


My Best Friend's Brother

by Exterminatorviolence



Category: National Football League RPF
Genre: Angst, Cliche, Cliche teenage romance AU, Fluff, Friendship to Lovers, If you've ever read a bad teenage romance novel it's that, Julian is Tom's younger step brother, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, SO MUCH FLUFF, because fuck you, high school/college au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-29
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2018-10-25 13:14:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10764987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Exterminatorviolence/pseuds/Exterminatorviolence
Summary: It wouldn’t be so bad if Danny had some love tales to regale back to his best friend, Tom, but he’s never been all that good with girls or guys thanks to growing up in a halfway house for most of his life. The one “relationship” he did have his first year in college wasn’t so much a relationship, but a failed ploy from the head cheerleader to get with the college football team’s quarterback, Drew.He doesn't expect his best friend's little brother to suddenly look like a model after a couple years of not seeing him. Suddenly, it seems that a second relationship could be on the horizon. If Danny can figure out a way to get with Julian without Tom castrating him first.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I don't even...Look. Amenbrola sent me a picture after the Super Bowl and it looked so much like one of those cliche teenage romance novel covers that I had to do this. I have other stories I'm working on and I'm struggling to find the will to live (it isn't under the cushions with all the loose change). Updates for others will be slow while I get through an existential crises. Thanks for patience!

 

 Danny is more or less listening to what Tom is going on about, but a person can only hear so much about their best friend’s amazing love life before they start to tune it out. It’s not like Danny isn’t happy for Tom, he is, it just gets kind of old. It feels like he’s been hearing love life tales from his best friend since he was a freshman in high school and Tom was a junior infatuated over an exchange student from Brazil. When she moved back to Brazil, ending the relationship, Tom didn’t talk about anyone until they were in college.

It wouldn’t be so bad if Danny had some love tales to regale back to him, but he’s never been all that good with girls or guys thanks to growing up in a halfway house for most of his life. The one “relationship” he did have his first year in college wasn’t so much a relationship, but a failed ploy from the head cheerleader to get with the college football team’s quarterback, Drew. A ploy that started with the cheerleader thinking if she got with some nobody who had a mutual friend with Drew named Tom, Drew would get jealous and go to her, and ended with Tom being the person Drew was actually interested in and the cheerleader being angry and dumping Danny through a text and then Danny spending a week feeling used and miserable while Tom brought him ice cream.

He never said it was a good plan. It ended relatively bad for everyone and left basically all of the cheerleaders hating him for something that wasn’t his fault. Sure, the cheerleaders were angry at Drew and Tom too, but they still had to cheer for him, so that anger dissolved fairly quickly.

But since Tom got with Drew, it’s been nothing but stories of “We went out to this place” and “Drew did this for me”. Danny has learned to half listen and nod or hum in the correct places so Tom doesn’t think he’s completely tuned out. He’s pretty sure his best friend knows what he’s doing.

Danny doesn’t know if it’s good or bad that the drive back to San Mateo is two hours. On one hand, it only gives Tom time for about three or four rather long winded stories, but on the other, Tom can really talk fast if he wants to. He does know that he’s grateful he took a year before college working to save enough for his own apartment or else he’d hear these stories 24/7.

They stop once for lunch at a rest stop where Tom drags him into shot of a snapchat he sends to Drew and adds to his story. Danny looks unamused in it, like he usually does when Tom makes him get into a snapchat.

“Julian says he’s excited we’re gonna be back for the summer.” Tom says around a forkful of salad because he’s weird and eats salad.

Danny nods. He remembers Julian, Tom’s younger stepbrother. Danny always thought he was a little lame, always the kid brother that wanted to hang out with them. He was always nice enough though and Danny always made sure to talk to him a little bit.

“That’s cool. How’s he been?”

Tom shrugs a shoulder. “He’s got some kind of modelling thing going on apparently.”

“Julian does?” Danny asks, surprised. “Small-four-foot-ten-Julian?”

Tom laughs. “Yeah. That Jules. I forgot that you haven’t seen him in a couple of years. He’s changed. You’ll hardly recognize him.”

He thinks that’s highly unlikely, but he nods, and then they’re back on the road and Tom has gone off on another Drew story. He settles in for the last leg of the journey.  
\-----  
They arrive at Tom’s house at three, both of his parents still out at work, but he assures Danny that Julian is home when he offers to get dropped off at his apartment. Danny leaves his own duffel bag and suitcase in Tom’s car and watches Tom struggle with his own.

“You’re such a dick.” Tom huffs when they’re at the front porch.

Danny laughs. “You’re the football player.”

“Yeah, the _backup q_ _uarterback_ , not a fucking lineman.” Tom says, scowling, digging in his pockets for his keys. He tosses them to Danny. “Open the door, dick.”

He does, still laughing. When he goes to push the door open, someone beats him to it. The door swings open and a very hot blonde is standing in the doorway.

“‘Dola!” The hot blonde shouts excitedly, hugging him.

“Um.” Danny says eloquently as arms wrap around him.

Tom pushes them further inside so he can drag his suitcase into the house. “Wow, you don’t even hug your own brother first?”

The hot blonde - _Julian_ apparently - pulls away from him and he got a good look at the blonde’s face. The kid definitely grew, standing just about to Danny’s own height, and Danny’s pretty sure high schoolers aren’t supposed to look like twenty something year old models with a jawbone so sharp, it could cut fucking rock. And since when did eighteen year olds have, seemingly perfect, five o’clock shadow?

Danny watches with wide eyes as Julian goes to hug Tom, still a half foot shorter than his older brother, greeting him. “I missed you too, dumbass. Mom and dad’ll be home soon, they’re happy you guys are home. Especially you,” He turns to point at Danny. “We haven’t seen you in _forever_.”

“Um. Yeah. Uh,” He continues, still ever so eloquent, before apologizing. “Sorry, I just...I didn’t recognize you.” He feels his cheeks prickle with heat.

Julian only laughs. “Yeah, more of a late bloomer.”

He laughs awkwardly, doesn’t say anything, can’t think of anything to say other than asking if Julian wants to go somewhere private and get on top of him. And that’s not something he can say ever. Especially not with fucking Tom standing right there.

“You are staying for dinner, right?” Julian asks. “Seriously, mom and dad will be thrilled.”

“Yeah, of course.” He answers, nodding.

Tom smiles at him and then looks at Julian. “Can you bring this upstairs for me?” He asks, tossing him his duffel bag.

Julian groans, but nods, turning towards the stairs.

“Told you.” Tom says to Danny, snapping him out of images of getting under the blonde.

“What?”

“That you wouldn’t recognize him.”

“Well no shit. You didn’t tell me he turned into a whole new fucking person.” Danny defends halfheartedly.

Tom laughs. “Well he’s still the same annoying little brother he was before. So not everything changed.”

Julian comes back down the stairs and Danny has to consciously keep his eyes from looking at how the tight shirt Julian’s wearing hugs him perfectly.

“Let’s go play Madden,” Julian suggests. “And I can continue to beat the actual football player at a football game.”

Tom groans as they move to the living room. “It’s so different,” He argues. “A player can’t fucking jump in front of a pass like they do in the game.”

“Whatever you say.” He responds. He moves to the console, bending down to get the game in.

Danny can feel his palms sweat as he continues to keep his eyes anywhere but Julian’s tightly hugged areas.

When Julian turns around, he winks at Danny. “Don’t worry, I’ll let you win.” He assures.

He smiles, strained, and subtly wipes his palms on his jeans. Julian collapses onto the couch next to him and he avoids the urge to lean towards the teen. He has to survive hours of being uncomfortably attracted to his best friend’s younger brother. Not to mention the rest of the summer.

Fuck, he is so screwed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is dedicated to MrsFlashBrightside for unknowingly pushing my ass to write at all. Beta'd by me. Let me know of mistakes.

Danny is home for a mere three days before he caves and has a session with his hand in the shower featuring a fantasy of a certain blonde. His cheeks heat with shame afterwards and he feels dirtier after the shower than he did before. He can’t think of anyone to text or call about his...problem. Hell, he barely has any numbers in his phone as it is and he can’t tell Tom about it. God forbid he figure out that it’s his little brother that Danny wants to get under.

He gets dressed and wanders around his small apartment. He needs to go to the store and get food. It’s something he doesn’t want to do, but he can hear his bank account crying at him not to just order in every day. He sends a text to Tom, asking if he wants to go grocery shopping with him. He gets a response fairly quickly, one saying that Tom’s busy, but _ask Jules, I’m sure he’d go with you_.

Danny scrapes his teeth over his lower lip, debating. After ten minutes he decides, fuck it, and types and deletes three messages before sending, _Hey, I need to go food shopping. Tom said you might wanna come with?_ He’s not overly happy about the text, but he sends it before he deletes it again.

He gets a response almost instantly. _Sure! I can come pick you up in twenty minutes_. He texts back an affirmative and reminds himself that this is Tom’s younger brother and nothing can fucking happen.

He pulls his shoes on and barely remembers to grab his keys and lock his door before going out to Julian’s car. The blonde is wearing sunglasses and is just as overwhelmingly attractive as he was the other day and Danny wants to smash his head against a window.

“Hey,” Julian greets, smiling. “Sorry you’re stuck with me. Tom is off with old high school friends.” He puts the car into reverse. “Why aren’t you out with them?”

Danny shrugs. “I didn’t really have friends. People put up with me because I was friends with Tommy.” He knows it sounds sad, he doesn’t mean it to, but he doesn’t have to look over at Julian to know the blonde is giving him a pitying look.

“Really? I thought you were all popular and shit.”

He laughs, surprised. “No, no, that was Tommy’s scene, high school quarterback and all that. Living in a halfway house did little to help me in the friends department.”

“I remember I always used to try and hang out with you guys.” Julian says, laughing.

“Tommy used to complain about you all the time and he’d go on rants on how I was lucky for not having any siblings.” Danny reminisces. “How are you now, though? About to graduate and looking all unrecognizable to people.”

“How unrecognizable am I?” Julian asks.

“Are you kidding me? Last time I saw you, you were a foot shorter and still in your awkward, teenage phase,” He points out. “The only thing that’s different about me is that my hair is slightly longer.” He runs his hand through his hair, messing it up further.

“Yeah, bit of a late bloomer. I’m lucky I bloomed at all.” Julian jokes, parking the car.

No shit Julian is a late bloomer, but he bloomed well. That’s not something that he can very well say, so he just laughs and gets out of the car.

The grocery store is a local one that’s been around for fucking ever and Danny is surprised that it’s still in business. He opens the door and welcomes the blast of cold air that hits him when he enters.

He looks over his shoulder to see Julian following him. “What about your friends?” He asks. “It’s Saturday, shouldn’t you be out at parties or whatever it is that high schoolers do these days?”

Julian shrugs, pushing his sunglasses up to his hair. “Most high schoolers don’t have family coming home from college.”

“I’m sure some of them have an older sibling who came home.” He argues, getting a cart.

“Yeah, but none of them have a _Danny_ coming home.” Julian says, like that should’ve been obvious.

The comment makes his cheeks turn red and he tries to cover it up by saying, “I’m not all that special.” It’s true, he isn’t special by any means. He isn’t a football player or model and he can barely even keep his house stocked with food.

“Well I think you’re pretty cool.”

He ignores the compliment and starts to fill the cart, glaring at Julian when he tries to sneak ice cream in.

“What?” Julian asks, face the perfect picture of innocence. “Ice cream is good for the soul. And there’s never any at my house because of Tom and his weirdass diet.”

Danny sighs, but motions with his hand for the blonde to put the tub of ice cream into the cart. It feels just a little too much like some kind of domestic act, and Danny has to shake the thought out of his head. Maybe he’ll rub one out later and then feel terrible afterwards.

“Modelling doesn’t have you on a diet?” He asks.

“Nope.” Julian answers, popping the ‘p’

He makes a doubtful noise, but continues to push the cart forward, adding food and pretending he doesn’t notice when Danny not so subtly places extra things in his cart.

The cashier mistakes them for a couple, something that makes Danny splutter out some kind of response as he pays while Julian laughs and jokingly calls him _babe_. Danny’s cheeks are probably permanently red at this point and he makes Julian carry most of the bags to the car in petty retaliation.

The car ride back to his apartment is filled with inquiries of what the blonde has been up to during the last couple of years, along with questions of how Danny managed to afford an apartment.

“Do you want to come in?” Danny asks when they’re back at his apartment.

Julian nods. “Sure. I mean, who else is gonna help carry all your bags in. Half that shit is mine anyway.”

He grumbles something in response, unlocking and opening the door.

“Did you have any fun college adventures?” Julian asks.

Danny laughs. “God, no. Apart from people wondering why I was a year older than them, I had a pretty average, boring freshman year.” He pauses, then adds, “Unless you count the cheerleader incident.”

"The cheerleader incident?” Julian repeats, raising an eyebrow.

He groans. “I shouldn’t have brought it up, but, uh, there was this girl, Steph, she’s the head cheerleader. She looked like a stereotypical cheerleader, blonde hair always in a high ponytail, that kind of thing. She asked me out one day. I didn’t really know her all that well, but I said sure. Like, what else was I gonna say? I didn’t wanna be rude.

“This was before Tommy and Drew were a thing, and Steph, apparently, had a thing for Drew since she was a freshman. Turns out, she had this brilliant plan of using me to try and get Drew through a very convoluted plan of trying to make him jealous by using me. It...didn’t work, obviously. And, using the brilliance of texting, she broke up with me.

“She was mad at Drew and Tommy too, but she has to cheer for them every game, so her anger didn’t last all that long. And now, the whole cheerleading squad, except for Kay, hate me.”

Julian's looking at him with wide eyes. "What? Really? Damn, Tommy never told me that when I asked him for fun stories."

He rolls his eyes not unkindly. "It's not really fun unless you're Tommy. He felt bad, but he also thought it was funny that a girl tried to get with a gay guy."

"But like, does everyone know that Drew is gay or...? Like, I've seen the guy once, and he didn't look all that gay to me."

"I guess you're right," Danny says. "But it's not like they were really making it a secret. God, it was the fucking opposite. Tommy was always talking about stuff they didn't together or where they went out, and Drew kept asking me for advice during the first month," He shakes his head. "It was ridiculous." He shoves the tub of ice cream maybe a little too hard into the freezer. So maybe he possibly has some jealous feelings towards Tom and Drew. Nothing bad, just envy and wanting a relationship like that.

He deflects the conversation back to Julian. “What about you? Any fun high school stories or love life woes?”

“Nah,” Julian answers. “Surprisingly, modelling doesn’t really offer opportunities to get with anyone.”

It does surprise him, but he doesn’t voice it. “Really?” Or, well, he tries not to voice it and fails.

“I do most of my modelling with other guys and most of the other guys are straighter than an arrow and with girlfriends so I can’t even get a guy who’s experimenting.” Julian explains, sighing. “It fucking sucks.”

Danny has to restrain himself not to make a poor attempt at flirting, and instead busies himself with putting cereal into one of the cupboards.

“I’m gonna be single forever.” Julian laments.

Danny snorts. “Yeah, no.”

“What?”

“Uh,” Well fuck. “Just that, you’re not, you know, _not_ attractive.” He tries to save. He figures he fails when he looks over at Julian and the blonde is staring at him with a raised eyebrow. “Don’t make it weird.” He begs.

“Making it weird, me? Never.” Julian says sarcastically as he rests his chin on his hand. “You could just admit that you just called me attractive.” He adds.

Danny groans, leaning his forehead against the cupboard after he closes it. “I asked you to not make it weird.”

Julian laughs. “I didn’t. I was just acknowledging something you said. Besides, it’s nice, I don’t get compliments all that much. Hey, toss me those chips.”

He does. “You’re a model. Don’t you get a ton of compliments?”

“Not really,” Julian answers, opening the bag. “It’s mostly asking me to pose another way while many lights are pointed at you.”

“Sounds so hard.” He comments jokingly, finishing putting away all the groceries.

“You don’t even know.” Julian says. “It’d probably be easy for you, though.”

“What?”

“Oh, because, you’re, how’d you say it, not _not_ attractive.” He says, smirking at Danny over the chips bag.

Danny rolls his eyes, ignoring the flush he can feel at the back of his neck. “I don’t know if that’s true, but thanks.”

“At least I can take a compliment.” Julian says.

He laughs, but can’t find it in him to give a witty remark back. Maybe it’s because he’s willing to take the compliment in exchange for a little of his pride.

The afternoon passes in a slow haze. All the windows are open to try and get a semblance of air flow in the house, and he’s just happy that California isn’t humid. It’s nice. One of the nicest afternoons that Danny has had in awhile without being drunk or high. Though, he thinks to himself that he may be a little drunk off of listening to Julian talk about high school while they sit on the couch close enough for their knees to bump.

He thinks he sees Julian glance at him every now and then, but he passes it off as the heat getting to his head. He tries to remember poor attempts at teaching him to flirt by Tom before remembering that this is _Tom’s fucking brother and nothing can happen._

He keeps telling himself - reminding himself that nothing can happen even if it’s been less than a week and Julian makes his breath catch and his heart forget to beat. It’s just lust, he tells himself, nothing more. But lust has never made his heart forget to work or make him feel like he’s out of breath.

And then Julian leans his shoulder against the doorframe on his way out. “Hey, I had a fun time, we should hang out more.” He says it like it’s the end of a date.

Danny nods, tries to come off as nonchalant. “Totally. Tommy might get jealous.” He jokes.

“I’ll bring weed next time, that way he won’t want to hang out with us anyway.” Julian says, laughing.

“Sure, sure, yeah. That’d be cool.” He says, leaning his weight on the door.

“Yeah. I’ll text you!” Julian says as a goodbye before disappearing down the hallway to the stairs.

Danny shuts the door and definitely doesn’t think about the blonde’s lips wrapped around a joint. Or shotgunning a hit with him. Or lazily making out with him.

He ends his day jacking one out before bed, thinking of blonde hair and full lips, hating himself just a little less than he did before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully the warmer weather for me will lift my moods a little and give me writing inspiration that's not just intrinsic self reflecting.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe being back home isn't so bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a weird thing being depressed. But I don't want to leave you guys hanging, so I'm trying to put the best updates out and it takes time, more so when I'm depressed. It's not an excuse, I just want you guys to have mediocre quality instead of shitty quality.
> 
> Also, yes, Kay is Kay Adams because I watch her like every morning on GMFB and she's amazing.

Danny wakes up, hard in his boxer briefs. He groans, drapes an arm over his face and imagines Tom and Drew having sex until his hard on goes away and he can get out of bed and function like a normal human being. He stumbles his way to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. He fiddles with his phone, trying to decide if he should text someone for advice for his...predicament.

He really only has two options, either Drew or Kay, and he’s pretty sure he doesn’t want to text either of them for help. Though, Drew might have something insightful to say about it.

He sends a simple, _Hey, I need some help_ to Drew and also a _Hey what’re you doing today?_ to Tom. Figures he might be able to make plans for the day at the same time he tries to get advice.

Drew doesn’t text him back, but rather calls which surprises Danny a little bit. He doesn’t think that his text sounded too desperate.

“Hey, Drew.”

“Yeah, hey. Sorry I have to call, I’m about to get in the car and can’t really text.”

He laughs, watching the coffee drip into the pot. “That’s fine, dude.”

“So what do you need help with?”

Danny’s laugh dies in his throat. “Uh, so, like...I may have a crush on someone.”

“That’s great! Who’s the lucky person?” And damn, once Drew learns who it is, his optimistic, hopeful tone is going to change.

“It might be your boyfriend’s little brother?”

Drew is quiet for a few seconds. “You mean Julian?”

“Yeah?” His voice lilts up at the end; embarrassed at the admission.

Once Drew stops laughing, he asks, “How bad is this crush you got?”

“I dunno,” He shrugs even though Drew can’t see him. “An average crush? Like, my heart speeds up a little when I see him, and I want to suck his d -”

“Too much!” Drew cuts him off. “Well what do you need help with? Just tell him.”

“What do you mean ‘just tell him’? Did you miss the part where this is Tommy’s younger brother and he’ll probably castrate me if I even lay a finger on Julian?” Danny rambles. “That’s not even to say that Julian will even feel the same way about me.”

“Danny. Danny, calm down. Tommy isn’t gonna castrate you. Sure, he might be a little upset and it would take time for him to understand it, but he wouldn’t be angry. You’re his best friend.” Drew points out.

He groans. “But best friends aren’t supposed to have crushes on their siblings.”

There’s a cut off curse from the other end of the line. Then, “I dunno. I think it’s fine.”

“Well then...how do I tell Julian about it?” Danny asks quietly. “Like, how did you and Tom get together?”

“Uh, there was the locker room after practice. It happened pretty organically.”

“Uh huh. ‘Organically’.” Danny repeats, knowing that it means they probably just had sex in the locker room. “Well, for those of us who don’t have the luxury of a locker room, could you care to share a suggestion or two?”

“I don’t know, text Kay, she’d probably be better at the flirting advice than me.”

“Oh, come on, dude. I hear all about your romantics with Tommy. Give me something.” Danny says, all but begging.

Drew’s sigh crackles through the phone. “Ask him out, or get him alone. Make allusions to sex, touch him in natural - emphasis on natural - ways. Don’t just randomly touch him. Get attention to your mouth, drink a beer, suck something off your fingers. Just...do it all in a natural way.”

Danny nearly makes his tongue bleed by biting it to stifle his laughter. “Were these things you did?”

Drew laughs sarcastically. “Ha, ha, no, Tom did, so have fun with those images in your mind.”

“Oh, man. Didn’t know Tommy had it in him.” Danny says, shouldering his cell phone to pour himself a cup of coffee.

“You’d be surprised. He did a lot more in that locker room too.”

He can hear the smugness in Drew’s voice. “Fuck you. I already hear enough about your guys’ sex life.”

Drew laughs. “Well, good luck. If you need more advice, ask Tommy. He’s pretty good with his lips -”

“I’m hanging up now!” Danny shouts, ending the call before Drew can say anything else that might scar his brain further.

He takes a drink of coffee, doesn’t react when he burns his tongue. He checks his mail, deletes the junk and spam. He startles a little when his phone goes off; it’s Tom.

_From: Tommy  
_ _My dad said he wanted to do something with me_  
_Why?_

_To: Tommy  
_ _No reason. Just wanted to see if you wanted to hang out._

_From: Tommy  
_ _Ohh. Yeah, sorry dude. It’s just Jules at home._

He doesn’t answer, instead bringing up another message, this one to Kay.

_To: Kay  
_ _Would it be a good idea or a bad idea to go over to a person’s house and then  lie about why you’re there to see them?_

Kay, ever the angel, responds almost immediately.

_From: Kay  
_ _What??? Who are you talking about? And why would you need to lie to see them?_

_To: Kay  
_ _Like if I went to see someone even though we’re not really good friends or anything and then said I was there to see someone else, but that someone else wasn’t home. Is that a good idea?_

_From: Kay  
_ _Yes. Do it._  
_And then tell me about it._

He sends her a thumbs up, finishes his coffee, and then takes a shower, very deliberately _not_ thinking about anything in particular.

He makes his way to Tom’s house, ignoring the voice telling him that, despite what Kay said, this is probably a bad -- if not a stupid -- decision. It’s not a long walk to Tom’s house and there’s only one car in the driveway. He rings the doorbell after a second of hesitation. He could still leave, but that might make him look worse, so he stays in front of the door, waiting for it to open.

Julian answers the door, like Danny expected, only he’s shirtless with wet hair, which Danny definitely did not expect. His mouth goes dry and he can feel the strain on his eyes as he keeps them trained on Julian’s face.

“Oh, hey Danny.” Julian greets, stepping back to let him in. “What’s up?”

“Uh, I was just…” He shakes his head a little to clear it. “I thought Tommy was here?”

Julian uses a towel to dry his hair. “He’s not actually. He went out with our dad earlier.” He explains.

Danny tries to make a face akin to surprise, hopefully succeeds. “Really? I was hoping we could hang out or something.”

“I don’t know when he’s gonna be back, sorry.” Julian apologizes again, frowning. “We could hang out if you want?” He suggests.

“I’m down if you want to hang out.” Danny agrees, trying to sound casual.

Julian’s face lights up and it makes Danny smile back almost subconsciously. “I’m always down to hang out with you. Lemme grab some clothes.”

Danny bites down hard on his tongue to not make some stupid comment like _you don’t need clothes_. He figures that’s a little too out there for the time being, even if it’s true.

He watches Julian walk up the stairs and once he’s out of sight, his heart starts hammering at his realization of what he’s actually doing; he’s actually trying to seduce his best friend’s younger brother off of the advice from his best friend’s boyfriend.

Julian comes back down the stairs, shirt on and hair still wet, and Danny nearly swallows his tongue.

“I’ve gotta go and drop something off at my school, you don’t mind, do you?” Julian asks sheepishly.

“No, I don’t have anything going on today. Shouldn’t you be in school?” Danny asks, checking his phone to double check that it is Monday. It is.

“Senior privilege. I took a ton of credits in middle school so I only have to take a handful this year.” Julian explains with a shrug. His hair is still wet, water dripping onto his shoulders. “I just have to drop off an essay.”

Julian leads them out of the house, unlocking his car. It’s suffocating in the car and Julian doesn’t hesitate to roll down the windows, groaning. Danny resists the urge to squirm at the sound.

It doesn’t take long to get to Julian’s high school and the blonde does everything but physically drag Danny into the school. He doesn’t want to go in, has nothing but average memories of his old high school, but Julian insists that he’ll fry in the car and no one will say anything to him. So Danny agrees reluctantly and gets led into the school and up two flights of stairs before they turn into a classroom.

There are students in the class, freshman, and the talking stops when him and Julian walk into the room.

“Ah, Julian, I was not expecting you today.” The teacher stands from his desk. His hair is white and falls down just past his ears and he has a thick German accent. “Are you here to turn in your final essay?”

Julian nods and hands him his essay. “Yeah. How’s your fiance?”

“Ya, he is good, taking ballroom dancing classes and regretting proposing the more I do these ‘crazy accents’.” The teacher shrugs and brushes his hair behind his ear. “But all is good. All is good for you too, ya? Who is your friend, another student?”

Julian laughs and pulls Danny next to him. “This is Danny, he graduated a few years back.” He turns to Danny. “This is Please-Call-Me-Wes, he does accents a lot. He’s engaged to the tech teacher, Please-Don’t-Call-Me-Josh.”

Wes nods. “Would you like some chocolate?” He asks.

“I’m good, thanks.” Danny answers, smiling. The teacher seems like a ten year old in a twenty year old body.

“Well thank you for your essay and if you and your cute friend see Joven tell him I am looking for him.” Wes says, smiling and nodding at them both before turning back to his class. “Okay, class, can someone tell me when Hitler died?”

Julian pulls Danny out of the room and back down the stairs. “I told you everything would be fine.” He says.

Danny chuckles, shields his eyes from the sun when they exit.

“You wanna go get high?” Julian asks when they get back in the car.

“Yes.”

Julian drives back to his house and pulls Danny up to his room, not listening to the faint complaining noises he makes. Danny doesn’t look at the blonde’s fingers as they roll the blunt as they sit on the bed. He takes the first drag and is a little proud that he doesn’t cough when he holds it in his lungs.

How much time goes by, Danny isn’t sure, but the blunt is soon too short to smoke and Julian is looking at him with lidded eyes and a dopey smile. It makes Danny laugh and cough the last hit out.

“Should we have opened the window or something?” Danny asks.

Julian lazily shakes his head. “Nah, the smell should clear out before anyone comes home.” He pauses, moves a little closer to Danny. “I really did miss you, you know. I've always had a crush on you, you know.”

When Danny looks over at Julian, he's a lot closer than anticipated. It makes Danny’s already pounding heart beat faster. “Yeah? I missed you too.” The words are out of his mouth before he registers them and he remembers why getting high with someone he likes isn't a good idea; everything happens before he's able to fully register it. He doesn't acknowledge the second part of the sentence, unsure if Julian has really said it.

Lips press onto his and he makes a surprised noise in the back of his throat. His hands are grabbing onto Julian’s shirt, holding him in place when he tries to pull back.

A tongue swipes across his lower lip and he groans, pulling Julian closer. One of Julian’s hands has found its way to his hair while the other inches under his shirt. Danny pulls away when his lungs start to burn for air.

“Sorry.” Julian apologizes.

Danny breathes out a laugh. “Don't be. It was nice.”

Julian smiles. “Yeah?”

He nods and starts to say something else, but there are footsteps climbing up the stairs. Julian pushes him away and he nearly falls off the bed, only righting himself and sitting up when the door opens.

Tom is standing in the doorway, eyebrows raised. “Julian it fuc - oh, hey, Danny. Were you both just getting high up here?” He asks.

Julian is standing next to the bed, wide eyed and staring at Tom. He runs a hand through his hair, flattening it. “Does it smell?”

“Yes, god, it fucking stinks. Open your damn window.” Tom complains, going over and opening the window for him.

“Sorry.” Julian apologizes, smiling and looking every bit not sorry. His eyes slide over to Danny who has yet to say a word. “We didn’t think you’d be home so soon.”

“Well you should get in the habit of opening your window when you smoke weed.”

“Yes, _dad_.” Julian says, rolling his eyes.

Tom matches Julian’s eyeroll and raises him a stern look. “You know mom and dad would be pissed off.”

“ _Okay_ , jesus. Just get out of my room.” The blonde complains.

Tom doesn’t, just stares between Julian and Danny with narrowed eyes. “You guys weren’t going to do any other illicit drugs, are you?”

Danny finally finds his voice, clearing his throat. “Well, we’re not going to now or anything.”

The tension deflates from the room and Tom laughs. “Stop corrupting my brother.”

He makes a noise of protest. “I’m not corrupting anyone!”

Tom just gives him a look before leaving. Julian turns to him. “Well, that was too close.” He says, laughing.

Danny smiles. “Yeah, I figured when you nearly pushed me off the bed.”

Julian rubs the back of his neck, sheepish. “Sorry, I panicked. We shouldn’t let Tom know about this.”

“God, no. No.” He agrees quickly. “I’m...uh,” He points to the door. “I should go.”

Julian grabs his wrist and pulls him back. “Or you could not go and we could keep making out.” He suggests, biting his lip. 

As much as Danny wants to stay, he knows it's a bad idea, that Tom or someone worse might catch them. "I'd rather not get castrated by Tommy or your dad." 

Julian laughs, pulls him in for a kiss before letting go of his wrist. "Text me sometime."

He nods, a little dazed. "Yeah, totally." He stumbles his way down the stairs, says a quick hi and bye to Tom and his dad, and tries not to trip over his own feet on his way home. He does remember to text Kay.

_To: Kay  
I made out with Tommy's little brother today_

He gets a response almost immediately.

_From:_ _Kay  
__WHAT?  
__YOU MADE OUT WITH JULIAN?_  
_Was he any good? Who kissed who? Are you guys like a thing now? Does he have any friends?_

He laughs and crosses the street, jumping when a car honks at him. 

_To: Kay_  
_We were both high. I'm still high. I just bailed on him because Tommy came home and I was terrified_  
 _I don't know if he has any friends for you_

_From: Kay  
Yeah, but are you guys a thing now???_

He lets himself into his apartment and kicks the door shut. He rummages through his cabinets until he finds a bag of chips Julian opened when he was over. 

_From: Kay  
_ _I'm gonna FaceTime you_

He has a few seconds to brush crumbs off his fingers before the request to FaceTime comes up on his phone. He hits accept and Kay's blurry face comes up onto screen. Her glasses are pushed up to keep her hair out of her face. She props the phone up somewhere and goes back to doing her makeup.

"Wait, wait, am I just a secondary task?" Danny asks for a greeting.

She laughs, dropping one brush to pick up another. "Listen, I know it's two o'clock over there, but it's five over here, and I'm going out to dinner. But," she continues, flipping through different eyeshadow palettes. "You  _need_ to tell me what happened."

He rolls his eyes, swallowing his mouthful of chips before responding. "I don't know if it meant anything. I texted Tom, he said he wasn't home, so I walked over to his house anyway, and when Julian answered he offered to hangout and I said yes. He had just gotten out of the shower and he was shirtless."

Kay pauses putting makeup on and looks at him. "Dude. Did you guys just go at it there in the doorway?"

"No!" Danny says too loudly. "I went with him to my old high school."

"Why?" 

"He had to drop something off and he, like, dragged me in the school." He explains.

"Run into anyone who used to shove you in lockers?" She asks, eyeliner held in one hand.

"No. I didn't even know the teacher. He looked fucking  _young_ to be a teacher. Like, my age and he had white hair." He explains. "He was like one of those teachers who throws a textbook away and asks everyone to call him by his first name, which his students do. The school has become progressive too because he's engaged with another teacher." 

"I had two teachers like that, they were really cute. She was divorced and then he got divorced and they got together." She sighs like she wishes that could happen to her.

Danny pushes the almost empty chip bag away and walks over to the freezer, pulling out one of Julian's tubs of ice cream. "Yeah, but these were two  _guys_." 

She pauses and looks at him, one eye adorned with eyeliner. "Dude, it's like a sign! You go back and he brings you to your old high school where you just happen to meet the only two gay, engaged teachers in the world." 

"Well, I didn't meet the other one. And I'm sure there are other teachers like that out there." He pauses to scoop ice cream into his mouth. "But then we went back to his house and got high in his room -"

A hand slam downs on her side. "He took you to his  _room_? Come on, he totally wants it."

"- and then he kissed me and we made out a little and then Tommy came home and I almost fucking died." He continues, unflinching. "He told me to text him. Do I have to wait three days or something?"

Kay is smiling. "No, just text him tomorrow."

"Not tonight?"

"Unless he texts you tonight, no. You don't want to come off as clingy." She takes her glasses off and sets them on the vanity. "I wish I had a best friend who had a hot brother." She laments.

He laughs and looks down at the ice cream tub, surprised to see half of the ice cream gone. "I'm so fucking high still. I'm gonna go take a nap."

"Okay. I'll text you later."

He hums. "Cool."

When the call ends, he reluctantly stands up and shoves the ice cream back into the freezer. He leaves the chips bag on the table, half crumpled, and goes to the living room, collapsing onto his couch. He flips through the channels on the television before landing on a marathon of some sitcom he's too high to really pay attention to.

He laughs along with the laugh track, thinks that maybe being home isn't so bad, and falls asleep before the credits roll.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spot the reference, get a cookie.  
> I want to die lol.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I fell out of love with this, with writing in general, but then I started a new story that was only for me for a different pairing never to be published, and it made me fall back into love with writing and I banged out some ideas and bits of chapters 3 months after I had stopped writing. I hope to finish this story before humanity burns to a crisp in some kind of nuclear fallout.   
> I'm real sorry that I ghosted all you guys, I had some stuff going on, but I'm not gonna bore all ya'll with it.

Danny settles into his first summer without college or two jobs to keep him busy. It's mostly just getting high, talking to Kay, hanging out with Tom, and lazily making out with Julian any chance they get. It's slow and hazy, a welcome difference from his usual double shifts or trying to cram too much into a study session. 

He's smoking a joint that Tom has brought over because Tom is the best best friend ever; doesn't even judge that he's getting high before noon. He's sitting near an open window in an attempt to keep the smoke away from Tom. He doesn't think it's working.

"You should come with us," Tom suggests. 

Danny looks over at him, exhaling the smoke into his apartment. His head is filled with cotton and he'd be lying if he said he knew what Tom was talking about. "What?"

Tom rolls his eyes, without malice. "To lunch. Friends are going,"

"Who are friends?" Because Danny didn't have friends; he had Tom who had friends.

Tom shrugs. "Just a few people - people you know," He amends once Danny goes to protest. "Just like, Willie, Teddy...I think Katie is gonna be there?" And Jules is going too, you guys are friends now. Speaking of, when did that happen?"

He buys himself time by taking another hit of the joint and holding the smoke in maybe a little longer than usual so that his slower than usual brain can think up a good answer that's not obvious. "He smokes weed with me," He ends up saying, rather lamely. 

Tom makes a face but he doesn't push it. "So? You gonna come then?"

A total of six people isn't awful, especially when he already knows two of them, and Willie and Teddy were always nice. He can't remember who Katie is though, which gives him a little bit of anxiety, but Julian will be there, it can't be that bad.

He nods. "Sure," He finishes off the joint and stands. "Lemme put pants on." 

Tom looks him up and down. "What's wrong with what you're wearing?" 

"Dude," He says, rolling his eyes and going to his bedroom. "You know how I am; I'm not gonna wear sweats to see people. I'll only be a minute." He quickly he changes from his sweatpants into some jeans. He would wear shorts, but all of his underwear is dirty and he's not about to go commando in anything other than jeans. "See? Wasn't that long." He says when he comes out of his room.

"It was ten minutes," Tom says flatly. 

"Oh shit, seriously?" If it's actually been ten minutes than Danny is way higher than he thought. 

Tom just grins and stands, ruffling Danny's hair; something that he has never appreciated. "Nah, it was only seven."

"Asshole."

\-----

Danny's high is mostly gone by the time he and Tom get to the diner. It's busy for a Tuesday afternoon, most of the parking spaces already filled. Tom spots the others quickly and drags Danny over with him, both ignoring the looks that a table of old ladies give them. Or, more specifically, at Danny and the way he stinks of weed. 

"Don't even talk to me if you're trying to say that the '72 Dolphins are better than the 80s 49ers," That's Julian's voice because of course Julian has already gotten into an argument with someone there. "The Dolphins went undefeated when teams only played sixteen total games, it's such bullshit,"

Tom is rolling his eyes and shoving Danny into the booth next to Julian. The blonde smiles at him quickly before getting back to arguing with the girl across from him. He assumes that's Katie. Katie has long brown hair parted down the middle that waves a little towards the end. She has brown eyes and petite features. Danny thinks he'd find her cute if he wasn't gay.

"You agree with me, right, Danny?" Julian asks him. 

He looks over at him, blinking, and trying to remember what he was talking about. "Yeah,"

Julian looks back over to Katie, smirking. "See?"

Katie rolls her eyes, leaning back against the booth. She turns to Tom who's sitting next to her. "Do you think this too?"

Danny and Julian share a look and he wonders if Katie has ever actually been around any of them because if anyone knows Tom, it's that his biggest crush was on Joe Montana.

"Uh, yeah," Tom answers. "The 80s 49ers are the best team. Where's Teddy and Willie?" 

Katie groans at his answer and then says, "I think they're both on their way." She turns back to Danny. "Who're you?"

"Uh..." He trails off. Apparently she doesn't recognize him either.

Julian saves him, thank god, by wrapping his arm around his shoulders. "This is Danny. Kinda like a second brother but cuter."

He ignores the back of his neck flushing. "Yep, that's me. I go to college with Tommy."

She narrows her eyes, assessing him and the arm that Julian still has around his shoulders. He glances to Tom, but he's too busy smiling down at his phone. Probably texting Drew.

"Oh, did you guys meet at college?" Katie asks.

"Uh, no," He answers. "I went to high school with him," Julian's arm has slid off his shoulders and he's resting his hand on Danny's thigh under the table.

"I haven't seen you around before," Katie says.

"I've been..." He trails off with a sharp intake of breath when the hand on his thigh creeps higher. "I was traveling and working a lot before I went to college, so I wasn't around," He shoos the hand off his thigh only for it to come back, squeezing this time. It's suddenly gotten hotter in the diner.

She nods, seemingly interested, even as she glances at her phone. "That's cool. I wish I could've traveled after high school."

He hums, grabbing onto Julian's wrist to stop it from reaching into his jeans because Tom is sitting right fucking there and Katie is looking at them weirdly already.

Katie opens her mouth to say something but is interrupted by both Teddy and Willie arriving and Teddy making a noise of excitement at seeing Danny.

"Is that Amendola?" Teddy asks, laughing and clapping Danny's hand. Willie has pulled up two chairs to the end of the table for them.

Danny laughs and shoves Julian's hand away from his embarrassingly hardening dick and back in the blonde's lap. "Good to see you too, Teddy," He nods a greeting to Willie. "And you too." 

"Where've you been, dude?" Teddy asks, sitting down.

Katie has her attention on Teddy now and answers for him. "He was just saying he was traveling and working," She's smiling at Teddy and twirling a strand of hair around her finger. And, okay, someone has the hots for Teddy and maybe every guy she thinks is single.

Teddy spares her a glance. "Yeah? That's cool," He turns back to Danny. "Glad you're back for the summer," He turns to Tom who's finally looking up from his phone. "How about you? You and Drew doing good?"

Tom nods, suddenly much more interested, because of course he is when Drew is concerned. Danny tunes out whichever story his best friend has decided to tell this time and he grabs onto the hand that's made its way back into his fucking lap again. He sees Julian wince in his periphery. Good, serves him right.

Julian, apparently wanting to get Danny killed by Tom, stands and shuffles past him out of the booth, making sure to brush his ass over his lap. He tenses and clenches his fists, glaring as Julian gives him a meaningful look.

"Where you going?" Tom asks, causing everyone to stop the conversation to look at Julian. 

Julian's eyes slide away from Danny's face to Tom's. "Bathroom." 

Danny knows that he can't just get up and also claim to go to the bathroom without looking really suspicious. He waits a minute before getting tom's attention saying, "I think I left my phone in your car. Is it open?"

"Should be."

He's able to leave the table without anyone questioning him, but Katie does give him a narrowed glance before he's out of sight. He makes a hard right at the front door and to the hallway leading to the restrooms. The door opens for him with Julian pulling him inside the single room and pushing him up against the door, kissing him hard enough to bruise.

He laughs. "I can't be here long, I told Tom I was getting my phone from his car. Two minutes of making out don't seem worth the increased suspicions." 

Julian shrugs, pressing kisses against his lips. "Couldn't help myself. You were just there, all big eyes and fucked up hair," He runs a hand through it. "Needed to kiss you."

Danny feels himself smiling, cheeks prickling with heat, and he wonders if this is how it's supposed to feel. He has to drag Julian's hands out from under his shirt. "We've gotta get back out there."

"Find," The blonde reluctantly agrees. "Let me drive you home."

"Yeah, okay." He says, nodding. He steals one last kiss before leaving and going back to their booth. He takes his phone out and holds it up when he returns to the table. 

Julian comes back seconds later, pushing Danny to the inside of the booth and grabbing his hand under the table. 

The rest of the lunch is mainly Julian arguing the superiority of the 49ers to the table while everyone else rolls their eyes at him. Tom talks a little about college and Drew when Willie asks, and Katie laughs at all the right places whenever Julian opens his mouth. Danny wonders if she knows she's barking up the wrong tree.

"Jules said he's drive me home," Danny tells Tom as they leave.

Tom looks surprised, raising an eyebrow. "You guys gonna hang out?"

He nods. "Yeah, maybe smoke a couple bowls."

"Alright," Tom claps a hand onto his shoulder. "Thanks for coming,"

"Uh, no problem," He says, confused. 

Tom scratches the back of his head. "I know Katie can be...intense, and I know she has a thing for Jules - well, she kind of had a thing with Teddy, but she's trying to move on...anyway, she doesn't know that he's gay, and I knew he'd be more comfortable with you there, so thanks," He shrugs. "Also cool of you to come out; I know you like to just stay inside all the time."

Danny laughs, waving him off. "No problem, man." He ignores the pang of guilt that he feels by not only lying to his best friend, but also have said best friend thank him.

Julian comes up to them. "Ready to go?" He asks. 

He nods. They both wave to Tom as they leave. Danny is pretty sure that Julian breaks some speeding laws with how quick they get to his apartment. Julian basically pushes him up the stairs to his apartment and through the door, turning him and kissing him before the door is even shut.

"Down, boy," Danny laughs, pushing the blonde away to close the door. 

Julian whines, hugging him from behind and dragging him back. "I've missed you though," 

Danny rolls his eyes. "It's been two days."

"Yeah," Julian agrees, scoffing. "Two days too long," He trails his lips over Danny's neck.

"You're insatiable." He groans, resting his head back against Julian's shoulder and walking backward with him. 

"I'm amazing," He argues, spinning Danny around to kiss him properly. "It's why you like me,"

Danny can't deny that, so he just laughs and lets Julian kiss him. Whenever Julian kisses him, it always makes him forget about everything else; makes him forget that they're hiding his whatever of a relationship and that his best friend won't castrate him the first chance he gets if he finds out.

They fall onto the bed and he pulls Julian on top of him, getting his fingers in that ridiculously soft blonde hair. 

"How're you so pretty," Julian asks between kisses.

"You're the model."

Julian's hands wander under Danny's shirt, rucking it up a bit. "Means I know beauty when I see it. And you are gorgeous."

Danny breathes out a laugh, cheeks flushing pink. "Shut up."

Julian smiles and kisses him again, deeper this time, grinding his hips down against Danny's and making him groan. They haven't fucked yet; Danny doesn't want to rush Julian and Julian hasn't ever mentioned it, seems happy with heavily making out and occasoinaly heavy petting.

Julian's fingers are tracing patterns over his stomach, making his breath every so often. He's out of breath already, Julian making everything soft and hazy, and his dick is embarrassingly hard in his jeans.

"You wanna, uh..." Danny stutters out, breaking away from the kiss. He's not a virgin, but no one ever said he was good at initiating sex.

"Do I wanna have sex?" Julian finishes, smirking a little.

His face flushes worse. "I...uh, yes."

Julian's head dips down, forehead touching Danny's. "You're adorable," He smiles wide. "And yes, I'd be honored to have sex with you."

Danny releases a breath he didn't know he was holding. He couldn't imagine what he'd be feeling if he was rejected now, at this moment with Julian literally straddling him and his own shirt already half off. 

"Oh thank god you said yes," He breathes out, closing his eyes.

Julian laughs affectionately, taking his shirt off and making Danny's mouth go dry because holy shit are eighteen year olds supposed to have abs that could be used as a washing board? Danny doesn't think so - not that he's complaining, he is far from complaining. 

He lifts his torso up enough for Julian to get his own shirt off, abs nowhere near as cut and defined as Julian's, but the blonde's eyes can't stop roving over him. Julian slides off the end of the bed and unbuttons his pants, pulling both them and his underwear down until he's standing there naked.

Danny licks his lips subconsciously, eyeing Julian's dick that needs to be in him, like, yesterday. "How are you a real eighteen year old?"

Julian shrugs a shoulder, smirking and getting back on the bed, kneeling between Danny's spread legs. He scoffs. "You were voted Best Looking in high school,"

He rolls his eyes, heart fluttering when Julian grips the waistband of his jeans. "I didn't have abs that could cut someone - I still don't have abs that could cut someone."

"You've got eyes that could rob a bank," Julian says. And it's not really a conventional compliment, but it makes Danny feel all warm anyway. "Are you wearing any underwear?" He asks when he starts to pull his jeans off. 

"Um...I have to do laundry,"

Julian groans and leans down to kiss him. "That's so hot."

"That I have to do laundry?" He asks, dazed.

Julian laughs against his lips. "That you're not wearing anything under your jeans."

He hums. "Guess I'll have to do it more often."

"God," Julian groans again. "Don't. It's gonna make me want to jump you all the fucking time." He gets Danny's jeans off and tosses them off the bed. 

And then they're both on the bed, naked, and there's a moment of silence as they both kind  of revel in the vulnerability and trust they're giving each other. It's a moment of calm before the rush of what's about to happen. 

He wraps his arms around Julian's neck and pulls him down. They're a mess of tangled limbs not long after, writhing against each other and exchanging moans. Pillows fall off the bed, and a neighbor pounds on the wall the bed frame keeps knocking against in a rhythm. 

It's not magic, sex isn't like that. but he thinks it's the closest thing to it he's ever experienced. It's nothing like drunk sex in the back of a frat house, or sober one night stands. It's blurred stars and city lights, deprave and pure all at once. Danny wonders if this is what falling in love feels like. He wonders if Julian feels the same way.

There are murmured praises that feel trapped between them in a bubble that only exists for them. 

They're panting for air afterward, Julian collapsed on top of Danny, sweaty forehead pressed against his collarbone. Danny is running his fingers through blonde hair as they catch their breath. 

Danny gropes on his nightstand until he grabs a few tissues and uses them to clean them off. He pushes Julian off of him, but the blonde keeps his arms wrapped around him and pulls him close, back to chest. 

"It's only, like, three," He points out quietly, not wanting to break the moment between them. "We probably shouldn't fall asleep." He yawns, contradicting himself.

"Shhh," Julian hushes him. "Sleep time."

He rolls  his eyes, fond, and smiles softly. He lets himself close his eyes and fall asleep even though he knows it'll fuck up his sleep schedule. It doesn't matter, he enjoys feeling close to Julian for a little while longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't make the sex as graphic as I usually would because I felt a scene like that would feel out of place in this kind of story.   
> Hopefully I'll be back before another 3 months goes by.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've been across the country in California for the week visiting my brother. I have a lot of stuff written so far, things that are random scenes that need to somehow be connected by a semblance of a plot line. I'll be back home on the 18th where I hope to have semi-regular updates.

Danny thinks that Tom starts to suspect something in early June, about a week before Julian is supposed to graduate.

"You're spending a lot of time with Jules lately." Tom points out casually when they're hanging out.

Danny startles, looking up from his phone from where he definitely was texting said person. "What?" 

"You and Jules," Tom repeats. "It's just you guys have been hanging out a lot. It's cool, I think Jules missed you a lot the couple of years you were gone. And I think he's a lot like you in the way he really doesn't have many high school friends." He explains. 

"He does have modeling friends, doesn't he?"

Tom nods. "Yeah, but none of them have ever been all that close. I guess there's Wes, but even then..." He trails off with a shrug. "I guess I just mean I'm happy you guys are friends. You both needed someone." 

Danny nods in awkward agreement. He wonders if Tom knows that his little brother fucked him literally a week ago. Wonders if maybe he should say something, Tom seems genuinely happy that they're friends and spending time together. 

"Also," Tom starts again. "Jules came home once with a hickey and if you find anything out about who he's seeing, tell me because if it's Wes, I'm going to have some words with him." He finishes, voice dropped to his protective older brother octave.

And there goes the idea of ever telling Tom right out the window. "Uh, I don't know, I haven't noticed anything. But I'll tell you if I find anything out." He says quickly.

Tom gives him a narrowed look. "Seriously. I know he'll tell you before he tells me,"

"What? He'd tell you as soon as he could," He lies, avoiding the narrowed gaze. 

Tom sighs, sounding so much like he did in high school when Julian would do something to annoy him. "He'd only tell me if he thought I'd approve. And since he didn't tell me, I can only assume it's someone I don't approve of." 

Danny wishes he would stop talking in the present tense. "And you don't approve of Wes?" He asks. He's never met the guy, but from the way Julian described him, he seemed nice enough.

"It's not that I don't like Wes, the dude seems chill. It's just...Jules is my baby brother. I only want the best person for him." 

He almost coos at the Protective Older Brother Tom, but stops when he remembers that Protective Older Brother Tom will turn his eyes towards him and thrash him completely if he knew about him and Julian. 

"Don't worry about it." He says, waving him off. 

Tom gives him a look like he thinks Danny is up to something, but, thankfully, he lets it go and they go back to watching Blade Runner together for the fifth time.

 

Danny brings it up to Julian when he's laying on his bed the next day and watching Julian sit at his desk and try to study something about chemistry. 

"He doesn't know," Julian assures him. "Trust me, you'd know if he did."

Danny supposes he's right, but he can't help but feel a little paranoid about the whole thing. "He's not dumb. He already thinks it's weird that we're hanging out so much."

Julian turns a page. "He said it was a good thing," He jots something down in his notebook. "You worry too much, babe."

Danny isn't convinced, but he drops the subject; not wanting to get into a fight. "You're graduating soon. Are you gonna have a graduation party?" 

Julian's shoulders shrug. "Probably not. I wasn't planning on it," He looks over his shoulder at Danny. "You didn't have one."

Danny rolls his eyes. "I didn't have friends. You do." He points out.

Julian makes a face at him and then looks back down at his textbook. "I already have a bunch I need to go to, it'd be hard to try and plan around them all." He changes the subject, spinning around in his chair to face the brunette. "Can I take you out tonight?"

Danny pretends to think about it. "Where?" 

"Just trust me."

It's not the first time Julian has taken him out somewhere, but usually, the blonde is more willing to share where they're going to go. He rolls his eyes, smiling. "Fine."

Julian takes him to the only drive in their area that night. It's showing their annual Midsummer Horror Marathon and they're making out while Michael Meyers strangles a girl with a phone cord. He's sure that the people in the cars next to them know what they're doing, but he could care less. He's on Julian's lap, trapped between him and the steering wheel, hands buried in blonde hair, and probably moaning a little too loudly. 

They've definitely had sex in the car before, but Danny definitely doesn't want to get arrested for public indecency tonight, so he takes Julian's hands out of his pants when they start to wander a bit too low and make him drive them back to his apartment. 

"You know," Julian says when he has Danny laid out on the brunette's bed. "This is how those teenagers get killed in the movies."

Danny laughs, pulling Julian down on top of him. "It's not Halloween." 

"I'll do this on Halloween too then." Julian decides, kissing him again. 

Danny moans into the kiss and lets Julian press him into the mattress.

 

"Hey," Danny murmurs. It's late, both of them sprawled out on his bed, sweat still slick on their skin and breathing still uneven. "What do you tell Tommy when you stay over here?" He asks. 

Julian huffs a laugh. "Way to ruin an afterglow, 'Dola," He doesn't sound serious though and he pulls Danny closer so he's half on top of the blonde, head resting on his chest. "He usually doesn't ask, but if he does, I just say I'm spending the night with one of the guys from modeling. Usually Wes or Travis,"

He hums, throwing an arm over Julian's stomach and closing his eyes. 

"Are you still worried about him knowing?" Julian asks. 

He shrugs. "A little. Why aren't you more worried?" 

Julian shrugs. "I dunno. I mean, sure I don't want Tom to find out because how awkward would it be for him to have his little brother dating his best friend?" He asks. "It'll be fine though," He assures. 

"We'll have to tell him at some point," Danny points out. "It's not like we can just hide it from him forever. And wouldn't it be better if we told him sooner rather than later?" He's torn between never wanting Tom to know and thinking about the future if Tom finds out from someone else and ends up being more pissed.

Julian rolls them over so he's on top. "Everything will be fine, okay? Don't you trust me?" 

Danny goes to protest, say something like how can you know, but Julian leans down and kisses him and the words get stuck in his throat. "Again?" He asks, breathless when they part. 

Julian smirks and grinds his hips down. "You seem alright for a second round."

"Just wondering about you." He counters.

Julian scoffs and settles between his legs. "Gonna make you eat those words." 

And Julian does. Makes him eat his words and so much more, and by the time they're done, he's on the verge of passing out and knows that he's going to get another noise complaint from his poor neighbor.

\-----

Kay calls him early the next morning, probably forgetting about the whole time difference thing again. Julian groans next to him and rolls over, sticking his face in the pillow. Danny snickers when he answers the phone.

"You know it's eight in the morning over here," He mumbles in greeting. 

Kay laughs. "Sorry, just wanted to make sure that you were alright. You didn't answer my texts so I got a little worried." That's sweet, it makes Danny smile. 

"Sorry. Went out last night with Jules. Saw some movies." He explains.

She makes an excited noise. "Is he still there?" 

"Uh..."

"Oh, he is! You guys make it official yet?" She asks.

"Well," He glances over his shoulder at Julian who's breathing had evened back out. "We haven't really talked about it at all," He sighs. "Can I call you back? God knows if he's gonna wake up."

Kay sighs too. "Fine, fine. You two lovebirds have fun! Safe sex is fun sex!" 

He groans and hangs up, dropping his phone onto the carpet. An arm wraps around him from behind and then Julian's behind him. "What haven't we talked about?" He asks, voice sleepy.

"Um," And shit, what's he supposed to say to that? "Uh, why you always top." 

Julian seems not to notice the stutter and chuckles. "You never seem to have a problem with it," His voice sounds worried and genuinely curious when he asks, "Do you?"

"No, no," Danny quickly denies. "God, no. It was just Kay being Kay." He feels bad about lying, but he doesn't want to freak Julian out by making things too serious too fast. 

The thought lingers with him though, even after Julian leaves in the same clothes he came in. Would Julian even want to be something more than whatever they are? What were they? Were they boyfriends or were they just casually fooling around? 

And even if they did become official or whatever, they still wouldn't want to tell Tom. How long of a future do they have if neither is willing to out themselves to the people closest to them? It would just be an inevitable ending to the relationship if nothing else. And what about when Danny goes back to college? If the relationship even lasts that long. He doesn't know where Julian is going to go, but he guarantees it's not to the same college as him and Tom. The universe would never be that nice.

He still sometimes wonders why Julian even likes him, wonders how Julian - extroverted, funny, loud, attractive Julian finds in him - introverted, continuously anxious, not athletic, little ol' him. He rolls over in his bed to where Julian was laying just a few minutes ago and sprawls out, allowing his worries to corrupt his thoughts for the rest of the day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: Graduation parties! Cameos! More suspicious Tom!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving! I'm thankful for all you people that keep reading my stuff. You guys are the best. I'm not entirely sure what's happening with this story anymore, like...don't even know. In a good way though. Kinda.  
> Beta read by me, might be errors/plot holes (but what else is new, am I right?)

Julian technically graduates a couple weeks earlier than everyone else in his high school. Part of the perks of having a modeling contract and also cramming credits in freshman year he says. He doesn't want to walk the stage; says he already spends too long under hot lights and at least he gets paid for doing it when he models. 

"Walking the stage is an experience, or so I've heard," Danny argues one night when Julian is sitting on his couch, watching the Monday Night Football game, because Julian has decided the best way to spend his first day officially graduated from high school is with Danny watching football between the Broncos and the Patriots.  
  
Julian waves off his argument, eyes never leaving the screen. "It's boring is what it is. I'm not giving a speech and my high school is filled with people I don't care about anyway. And what for? A rolled up piece of paper?"

Danny supposes he has a point, he never found the big deal in walking the stage either, which is why he didn't. The conversation trails off into silence and occasional shouts whenever something even a little exciting happens on the screen. And considering they both find even a five-yard completion exciting, there's a lot of shouting.

They still haven't talked about it, whatever they are. Danny hasn't brought it up, worried that Julian is just in it for sex or whatever, and Julian hasn't said anything either, so why bring it up? Kay tells him that he's crazy and of course Julian likes you, he takes you out, and you guys had sex, but even that doesn't make him feel better about it.

His answer comes after sex. When all the good answers are given.

He's lying next to Julian on his back when the blonde asks, "I have to go to a grad party this Saturday, you wanna come with me?"

Danny hums. He doesn't really want too, but he does like spending time with Julian. "Who's party is it?"

Julian shifts so he can pull Danny close to him. "My friend Wes. He models with me, so I can introduce you to my other model friends as my cool older boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" He asks, breath hitching.

"Yeah, boyfriend."

And that's that. Danny gets the answer he was looking for with minimal talking about feelings that might lead to certain words that shouldn't be said and certain conversations that he doesn't want to have. All in all, it's good. Everything is good.

\-----

It's hot the day of the graduation party, like one hundred degrees and wanting to die kind of hot. Danny has never been more grateful for Julian to have air conditioning in his car than he is today. Julian said that they had to dress up at least a little, which is why they're both sporting button-down shirts and jeans.

"Please tell me the party is inside somewhere with air conditioning," Danny begs as soon as he gets in the car.

Julian laughs. "Yeah, it's inside. Are you nervous?" 

Is Danny nervous? He likes spending time with Julian, but he's not all that great with people on a good day, and now Julian is taking him to a party where he won't know anyone and they're all going to be models. Nervous? Him? Never.

"As long as you're there, I'll be fine." He assures. And it's relatively true.

"It'll be great. We don't have to stay for long. Mostly just to say congrats to Wes and tell literally everyone that you're my boyfriend, and then we can leave." Julian promises.

Danny chuckles. "Is your favorite part the introducing me part?"

Julian nods. "Of course."

The party isn't in a place that Danny has ever heard of, some nice looking building that looks like some kind of country club. He feels a tad more nervous now that they're actually here, but it's a different type of nervousness now. More of an _everyone being a model and I'm just me_. A self-deprecating type of nervousness.

It's blessedly cold in the country club, filled with a lot of people. He isn't sure how Julian even manages to find Wes in the sea of people, but he does and drags him over for introductions.

"Hey, Wes! Congrats!" Julian cheers, handing Wes an envelope. 

Wes looks surprised but happy to see Julian, and he looks confused at Danny. "Thanks, Jules. I didn't know if you were gonna come."

Julian scoffs. "Of course I'd come," He motions at Danny. "This is my boyfriend, Danny." He introduces, a little proud.

Danny feels awkward as he shakes Wes' hand. "Hey, nice to meet you. Congrats."

"Thanks," Wes says equally as uncomfortable. "How long have you guys been dating?"

He looks at Julian to answer, which he does. "About a month,"

Wes nods. "That's cool, man. Did you meet through a friend or...?" He trails off and turns to Danny. "I totally would've remembered if I'd seen you around the studio before."  
Danny laughs. "Nah, I don't model. I didn't even know Jules modeled until I came home from college."

"Oh shit, you're in college?" Wes nudges Julian. "Older men, huh, Jules?"

Julian shoves him back. "Fuck you, you wish you could bag an older chick." He jokes.

The conversation flows easily after that until Wes gets whisked away by another party guest. They find a quieter place away from all the people.

"This is why I don't want a grad party," Julian mutters. He pulls at the collar of his shirt a little. "It's so goddamn stuffy with all these people here."

Danny nods in agreement. "So are all these people models?" He asks.

Julian shakes his head. "Not everybody. There's some people from Wes' high school I think," His face lights up. "Hey, there's Luke!"

And then Danny is being dragged through a crowd of people towards a guy a couple heads taller than them with curling black hair and blue eyes. The eyes match the blue shirt he's wearing.

"Hey, Luke," Julian greets when they stop in front of him.

Luke smiles and Jesus, this guy could play Prince Eric if he wanted. "Hey, Jules. I'm really glad you're here actually. I don't know anyone other than Wes here." He confesses. Danny can relate.

Julian laughs. "Bro, same," He pulls Danny closer to him much like he did when they were talking to Wes. "This is my boyfriend, Danny."

Luke, to his credit, looks a lot less surprised than Wes did. Instead, he smiles and shakes Danny's hand, maybe a little too hard. "Hey, man. Nice to meet you."

"You too," Danny answers, subtlely shaking out his hand when it returns to his side. Or maybe not that subtlely if the way Luke is looking at him is any indication.

"So what do you do?" Luke asks.

"Uh, mostly college. I go to UCLA with his older brother," He responds. "Haven't been home in a while, but it's good to be back for a little while."

Luke nods along. "That's cool." He nudges Julian, a lot like the way Wes did earlier. "Look at you, growing up and getting yourself a boyfriend." He teases.

Julian laughs and shoves back at him. "Yeah, alright. Wes teased me earlier about it so you can just fuck right off."

This introduction thing happens about three more times and it all happens the same way: Julian introduces him to someone, they shake hands, he tells them that he goes to college with Tom, that he hasn't been home in a little while; they nudge Julian, ribbing him for finding someone older...rinse and repeat.

He's exhausted by the time they leave and he leans back against the seat once he gets back in Julian's car.

"You good, babe?" Julian asks.

He just gives a thumbs up, closing his eyes. He wants to lay in bed for a week.

Luckily, Julian seems to share the same interest and he follows Danny into his apartment and collapses onto the couch with him, shucking both their jeans in the process. Danny is beyond fucking grateful.

An hour goes by and then Julian rolls over on top of him. straddling his hips. "I wanna thank you for coming with me to Wes' grad party,"

Danny smirks, hands settling on the blonde's hips. "Yeah? You don't have to,"

"I know. I want to, so let me."

He puts up no resistance as Julian gets a hand down his boxers. The room feels like it heats up ten degrees, sweat dotting his forehead and Julian's hand making him whimper. Blood is rushing in his hears, but the shrill tone of his phone going off cuts through it like a knife.

"Hang on," He pants out, groping for his phone. Tommy reads across the front screen and he sucks in a sharp breath, dragging Julian's hand out of his boxers. "Hey, _Tommy_ ," He greets, emphasizing the name to let the blonde know what's going on.

Julian doesn't seem to care, only smirks a little and inches his hand back into his boxers, fingers wrapping around him again.

"Hey. Have you seen Jules at all?" Tom asks.

Danny grits his teeth, glaring at his boyfriend. "No," He grinds out. "I haven't seen him," He holds the phone away from his mouth. "Stop!" He hisses.

"No," Julian whispers back, bending down and kissing his neck. "Be quiet." He warns like it isn't obvious.

"Or you could not," He whispers back quickly. "Uh, sorry, what?" He asks back into the receiver, completely missing whatever Tom has said.

"Are you alright?" Tom asks.

"Yeah, 'm fine," He gasps.

Julian has gotten his boxers pulled down to his thighs and is currently kneeling between his legs, head dipping down. He bites down hard on his bottom lip to stifle a chocked cry when lips wrap around him with practiced ease.

"Do you have someone over?" Tom asks, sounding like he just stumbled across the best gossip.

Danny's heart drops. "N - no. I just, uh," He covers a moan with a cough and shoves his hand through Julian's hair, gripping onto it. "I'm...shit. Yes, okay?"

Instead of hanging up like Danny is hoping, Tom instead laughs and says, "I can't believe it! And you answered your phone?"

"I thought it..." His head tips back. "Thought it might be an emergency."

"Uh huh," Tom replies, and if Danny wasn't so overwhelmed by the feeling of Julian's tongue sliding up his cock, he would've heard the suspicious tone his best friend's voice drops too. "Well don't let me keep you from a good time."

Danny doesn't bother giving a response, hanging up and dropping his phone. He lets out a ragged moan, happy that he doesn't have to choke them back anymore.

Julian pulls off of him, laughing. "You did good, 'Dola," His voice is raspy. He crawls back up Danny's body to kiss him, all teeth and tongue.

Danny feels dizzy when Julian pulls back. "Never again," He pants. "Fucking never again." 

"You can't pretend that you didn't enjoy it a little bit," Julian counters. He stands from the couch and pulls Danny up with him, walking him backwards to his bedroom. "Now let me thank you."

 

A few hours and another noise complaint later, they're both laid out on the bed, limbs tangled together. There's a warm atmosphere wrapped around them, one that feels safe. 

It bursts when the door opens and a voice calls out, "Yo, 'Dola, you home?" It's Tom. Using the spare key that Danny had given him so he wouldn't have to buzz in every time he came over.

"Shit, fuck," He hisses, heart, beating too fast. The bedroom door is ajar and if Tom walks a few feet further in, he'll be able to see them. "Yeah!" He calls back. "Uh, gimme a sec. I don't have pants on!"

Julian, to his credit, is trying to keep calm and has managed to grab his boxers and pull them up over his hips.

"Yeah, I can tell," Tom says, laughing. "You left them out here..."

"Goddammit," He groans quietly. He pushes Julian over to his small closet and shoves him in. Rushing, he grabs the first shirt he sees and throws it on. He's frantically searching for his boxers, when he remembers Julian took them off on the couch. He grabs a pair from his dresser and nearly falls pulling them on.

When he exits his bedroom, he slams his door shut behind him. "Hey, Tommy. What's, uh, what's up?" He runs a hand through his hair, trying to flatten it a little bit.

Tom is inspecting the clothes strewn out on the couch and the floor. "Just wanted to stop by," He nods to the clothes. "I see that your friend is still..." He trails off and points at Danny. "Jules was wearing a shirt like that earlier."

"What?" He looks down at his shirt and realizes that, in his haste, he put on Julian's shirt instead of his own. He forces a laugh. "Oh man, isn't it weird how there's multiple of one shirt?" He asks sarcastically.

"Shut up," Tom laughs. "I was just pointing it out." He points back to the couch. "Is your friend still here?"

Danny swallows hard. "Um, yeah. So could we, uh, what do you need?"

Tom doesn't smirk, but his eyes look calculating, like how they look when he's on the football field. "I wanted to see if you wanted to go out, get something to eat or something. I didn't think your friend would still be here after two and a half hours."

Danny blushes. "I didn't realize..." He clears his throat. "Stamina and shit,"

Tom hums, lips twitching. "Well, when your friend is gone, call me. I'm gonna want all the details," He saunters back to the entrance and the door clicks shut behind him.

Danny lets out a long sigh, head tipped back, relief flowing through him like water. He walks back to his bedroom and opens his closet, letting Julian out. "Sorry. Hey, um, so Tom definitely knows?" 

Julian's eyes widen. "What? How do you know? Did he say something?"

He shakes his head. "No, just the way he looked. If he didn't know it was you in here, he knew that something was fishy."

"Well as long as you didn't say anything and he did say anything, we shouldn't worry about it," Julian says, shoulders sagging in relief.

Danny doesn't think Julian knows the extent of what's just happened in his living room. "Dude. He doesn't come over for no reason, he never does. He recognized your shirt!"

Julian looks. "You look good in my shirt," He comments.

He ignores the blush that rises on the back of his neck. "That doesn't matter," He runs a hand through his hair, anxious. "I..."

Julian's hands cup his face. "Hey," He says softly. "I'll make sure that Tom doesn't catch on. You don't have anything to worry about, okay?"

Danny nods. "Yeah, okay."

The blonde smiles and tugs him back to the bed. "Now lay down. I don't have to be back home until, like, five."

Danny falls onto the bed with Julian, sighing and trying to forget about Tom's visit and how he somehow seemed to glare through his bedroom door.

Maybe Julian's right and he's worrying too much. If Tom had known Julian was in his bedroom, he surely would've said something. It's not like he'd purposefully keep quiet to make Danny sweat. He mainly hopes that Drew won't say anything to Tom if he asks about it. He doesn't think Drew would, but it's still a worry to pile on to the others.

Julian seems to sense it and brushes his lips over the back of his neck. "Relax, babe."

Danny rolls his eyes because how did he know? "Fuck you," He mumbles, but he's smiling. "I'm relaxed."

"Mmhmm," Julian hums. He rolls his hips against Danny's. "I can help you relax again if you want."

"You're insatiable," Danny moans, but he doesn't stop Julian's hands as they creep into his pants. "You're doing all the work."

Julian rolls over him. "Fine by me."

 

Tom comes over later, once everything is cleaned up and Julian has been long since gone.

"So?" Tom asks. "How many rounds did you go with your, uh, friend?"

"One more after you left and then he left," Danny answers quickly.

Tom snorts. "I'm just happy that I didn't walk in on you guys doing it. Who was it anyway?"

"Uh, no one," He answers, not meeting Tom's eyes. "I just, could we not talk about it?"

Tom sighs, but he seems to understand and doesn't push the issue further. "So the real reason I came over earlier was because I had a favor to ask,"

"Oh...?"

"Yeah. Drew said he was thinking about coming up to visit for a couple days and I was wondering if he could stay here?" He asks. "It'd only be for a couple of days."

Danny bites the inside of his cheek. It's going to look weird if he says no because he has no reason to say no other than Julian wouldn't be able to come over for a couple days. "Sure," He says softly, slowly. "When?"

"This weekend. He's getting here Friday afternoon and then leaving Monday morning." Tom explains. "Thank you so much, dude."

He nods. "Yeah, uh, no problem."

He's wondering how he's going to be able to juggle everything. He knows that Tom will be over more often if Drew is here, not like Danny can fault him, but he's starting to think that maybe he's bitten off more than he can chew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments are cool and I really like them a whole lot.  
> Coming up: Drew visits! Julian gets accepted into a college and meets his roommates! Danny has more worries about their future relationship!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back with a chapter that's far too many words. Happy holidays!

When Danny tells Julian about Drew coming to visit and staying at his apartment, the blonde is, decidedly, not as excited as his older brother. 

"It's only for the weekend," Danny says, though he feels the same way. "And it's not like I could've said no to Tom. You just can't sleep over for three nights."

Julian sighs. "Yeah, I know. I'm not blaming you or anything, just sucks is all. Does Drew know about us?"

"Uh," Danny hesitates. "He gave me advice for a guy I like, but I don't think he knows we're together. And even if he did," He continues. "He would've told Tom about it by now if he knew,"

"You're lucky I like you so much," Julian says, moving closer to him on the couch.   
Danny hums, agreeing without saying anything. It's not like he lied. Drew doesn't know that they're together, just that Danny needed help trying to get him. What no one knows won't hurt them. 

"I like you too," He rests his head against the blonde's shoulder.

He feels Julian smile against the top of his head. "I know. They'd see each other in, like, a month anyway," Julian complains. "When do you guys go back?"

"I don't care," Danny admits, stretching. "End of August? The 28th?" He guesses.

"That's just over a month away," Julian complains. "I only get," He pauses. "Like, 32 days with you."

It startles a laugh out of him. "Then let's enjoy it." He insists. 

Julian looks like he wants to say something, but he doesn't. 

Danny wonders, briefly, if he should spill the beans about Drew knowing about Danny's massive crush on Julian. But he's already told the not-quite-a-lie if he goes back on it, then Julian will definitely know he was lying and it would just cause unnecessary tension between them. He's made his bed, he'll have to lie in it if that time comes.

\-----

Drew is holding a bag and looks tired when he arrives at his apartment. "Hey," He greets, smiling. "Thanks for letting me stay here, man,"

"No problem," Danny replies, smiling. "I'm not gonna say no to my best friend's boyfriend."   
Drew laughs, dropping his bag onto the floor next to where Danny has pulled out the couch. "Still. I really appreciate it."

He accepts the thanks in silence and then asks, "Did you tell Tommy you're here yet?" 

Drew nods. "I texted him," 

"He'll probably be here in a few minutes then," He jokes. It turns out to be less of a joke and more of a prediction because the door opens and Tom rushes in, ignoring his best friend and going straight for Drew, kissing him like this is the first time he's seen him in years.

Danny rolls his eyes. "Hey to you too," Tom waves at him over Drew's shoulder. "Alright, I'm leaving now."

Neither acknowledges him as he leaves. He walks over to Tom's, texting Julian on his way, and hopes that they keep it neat; knows they won't.

 

"They're fucking on my pull-out couch," Danny says in lieu of greeting when Julian opens the door.

"Uh, what?" Julian laughs, tugging Danny into his house by the wrist.

"Your brother and his boyfriend. They're fucking on my pull-out-couch." He repeats.

"Gross. We can fuck on his bed if it'll make you feel better," Julian suggests, winking. 

Danny wrinkles his nose. "I'm not that petty," His expression turns pleading. "Please let me stay here until they're done." 

Julian looks like he's thinking about it before saying, "Of course," 

"Thank you thank you thank you," Danny says, falling forward on to his boyfriend. 

The blonde grunts, supporting the weight and half dragging him up the stairs. "Give me something, babe,"

With a long groan, he supports his own weight again. He falls backward onto Julian's bed and looks imploringly up at him. "Lay with me?" 

"Of course," Julian answers again, laying down next to him and wrapping him up in his arms. "Hey," He says quietly.

"Hm?"

"So, um, we've been dating  for like..." 

"A month," Danny finishes. 

"I thought two months," Julian argues, a wrinkle appearing between his brows.

"One month,"

"Two."

"Fine, two," Danny relents. "Two months," 

Julian nods. "Two months," His voice turns nervous, a rarity, something Danny has never heard before. "And I know two months isn't, like, a ton of time, but, to a recent high school graduate who has had a crush on you since he can remember, it feels like a long time," Danny has a feeling he knows where this is going and his heart is beating out of his chest, because two months really isn't a long time, but, god, he feels it too. "And, like, you don't have to say it back or anything, but I think I love you,"

And even though Danny knew those three words were coming, it still takes him by surprise. He's never heard those words before unless they were coming out of Tom's mouth in a very platonic way. Does he love Julian? Does Julian really love him? Or are they still in the puppy love stage where the thrills of the first love will fade away with time; time and the distance that will inevitably arise when they both go to college, and the secrecy from the people closest to them. There's a lot of variables. 

But. But Danny will take it day by day, moment by moment. And today, in this moment, he thinks he loves the person lying next to him. 

"I love you too," He hears the exhalation of the breath that Julian was holding and turns his head to look at him. "I don't know if I'm going to love you in a week, or a month," He explains, taking Julian's hand and interlacing their fingers between their bodies. "But I love you." 

Julian huffs a quiet laugh. "Not quite what I was expecting you to say, but it's honest, and I appreciate that,"

"What were you expecting me to say?" 

"Oh, I dunno, something about how I don't know what I'm talking about, how I'm too young to know what love is," He blows out a sigh. "I know I love you."

Danny squeezes his hand and gets one in return. "I love you too."

\-----

What they end up doing is basically switching houses; Danny and Julian shacking up in Julian's room more often than not, and Tom and Drew taking residence in Danny's apartment. It's not quite the same because it's not like Danny can stay the night in Julian's room, and Tom is a good best friend who won't have sex in the apartment while he's there.

"I hate this," Julian whines against his neck. He's pressing soft kisses down it, knowing he can't go further in his room with his parents downstairs. 

Danny breathes out a laugh. He's underneath the blonde, face flushed. "I know; me too. Only one more night. We can last that long without having sex,"

"I know," Julian groans. "But it still sucks." 

He hums an agreement. "Sorry."

"Not your fault." Julian mumbles. "My older brother just has a good boyfriend and I have a good boyfriend for playing host." He goes back to pressing kisses down the brunette's neck.

"You've gotta stop," He says, breathless. "I don't wanna walk out of your house with a hardon; your parents are downstairs,"

He can feel Julian rolling his eyes. "Fine, fine," He rolls off of him, flopping onto his back. Tom isn't home yet and it makes Danny not want to go back to his apartment because he really doesn't need to catch his best friend having sex. Again. "Can I see you tomorrow?"

Danny nods, willing his boner to go away. "Sure," He looks at his phone. _23:31_ stares at him. He should leave. "I should leave."

"Alright," Julian doesn't move. "I'd walk you out, but, um," He glances down at himself. "It'd look worse if we both went down there with hardons."

He nods, agreeing, and walks awkwardly to the door.

"Hey, wait," Julian calls out, grabbing his wrist and giving him a chaste kiss, and then kissing his forehead; something that feels more intimate, and leaves him feeling more vulnerable, than sex. "Love you."

"Love you too." He responds. He slips out the door, down the stairs, and out the front door into the warm night air.

 

It's almost midnight when Danny stumbles through his apartment door. The lights are still on and Drew is flipping aimlessly through the limited channels that Danny has on his television. Tom is asleep on his chest.

"Hey, dude," Danny greets, throwing his keys onto the kitchen counter. "Have fun?"

Drew rolls his eyes fondly. "We didn't have sex in your bed if that's what you're wondering,"

He makes a face and sticks out his tongue. "I wasn't wondering that, but now I will."

Drew laughs. "Where were you?" 

"Just...out," He answers, being purposefully ambiguous. 

"Did you happen to be with a person named Julian by any chance?" Drew asks, raising an eyebrow. 

"Wh-hat? Pft, no," He waves off the question with his hand. "I was just like walking around and stuff,"

"Uh huh," It's obvious that Drew doesn't believe him, but he's thankful that he doesn't push it further. He's thankful too soon because Drew asks, "How'd that whole thing with go anyway? You ever tell Julian about your crush?"

Danny bites the inside of his cheek, debating whether or not telling his best friend's boyfriend about him dating said boyfriend's best friend's little brother is actually a good idea. 

"Yes," He admits. That bed is already made, this is just adding throw pillows onto it. "That's where I was. Just now." His eyes flick to Tom, but he's still sleeping soundly.

Drew nods. "Good for you," He holds up a hand and, before Danny can get a word in, says, "I won't tell Tommy. You don't have to worry." 

"Thanks. We'll tell him eventually. I hope," He walks to his bedroom. "Night, man."

"Goodnight. Oh, and you might want to invest in some makeup to hide those hickeys." Drew advises, and Danny can hear the smirk in his voice. His face turns red and his feet move faster to his bedroom. He'll have to tell Julian to stop leaving noticeable marks above his collarbones. 

Despite having a walk home, a conversation with Drew, and the fact that his best friend is in his apartment, his hardon has, unfortunately, not gone away. He shoves his jeans down to his thighs one hand gripping himself, the other going over his mouth to muffle the sounds that want to escape his lips. He only feels a little guilty about this, but he's mostly thinking of Julian leaving marks on him where other people will see them and everyone knowing that a person like Julian had left them. It's the thought of other people knowing that someone like Julian is with someone like himself. 

He finishes embarrassingly quickly, resting his head back against the door, breathing deeply and trying to catch his breath. His eyelids droop. He kicks his pants off all the way, slips on a clean pair of boxers, and goes to bed. He ignores how his bed feels empty.

\-----

Tom and Drew are already up when he wakes up in the morning. He can hear them clanking around in his kitchen. He wonders what they could possibly be making in his small, understocked kitchen. 

He gets up, puts his feet in the first pair of jeans he sees, hopes it's not the pair he was wearing yesterday. He shuffles out to the kitchen and gets a mug full of black tar shoved into his hands by Tom. 

"What the fuck," He deadpans. "You never make coffee," He drinks it anyway. It's strong; too much coffee grounds with not enough water. Tom has a flush high on his cheeks and if Danny didn't know better - and it wasn't ten in the morning - he'd assume that Tom was drunk. "Um, thanks," He glances down. "Please put on pants."

Tom leaves the kitchen to, presumably, put on pants, and Drew gives him a look. He rolls his eyes and dumps the coffee down the sink. He dumps everything down the sink and makes the coffee over. 

"It's awful." He admits. 

Drew laughs. He looks sleep mused and happy. Danny wonders how much he has missed Tom.

"I know. Didn't have the heart to tell him,"

"You're a good boyfriend," He comments, trying to rub the rest of the sleep out of his eyes. "A better boyfriend than I am a best friend at least,"

Tom comes back in, wearing jeans, and frowns at the coffee machine. "Wasn't good?"

"Uh," He hesitates, smiling apologetically. "Sorry," He changes the subject. "What're you guys doing today? Something other than being holed up here having sex?"

"Introducing Drew to everyone," Tom answers, obviously excited.

Danny has forgotten that Drew hasn't ever been here before. He gives Drew a sympathetic look; he knows the pain of getting introduced. "Have fun," He says sarcastically. 

Tom drums his fingers on the countertop. "I'm taking a shower," He makes eyes at Drew. "Coming?" 

Drew makes eyes back. 

Danny wants to puke.

\-----

When Drew goes home, Danny wants to thank the stars. It's suspiciously quiet from Tom for a week, but Danny figures that he's just sad that his boyfriend left. Any suspicions he might have of his best friend knowing about him defiling his younger brother is wiped away whenever Julian is over; and Julian is over a lot, adding dents to Danny's bedroom wall.

"I wanted to show you," Julian starts. He bends off the bed to grab his jeans and fish through his pockets, pulling out a folded piece of paper and handing it to Danny.

"What is it?" He asks as he unfolds it. It's an acceptance letter to the University of Arizona. For Julian. His first reaction is pride, overwhelming pride that his boyfriend got into his choice school. "Jules!" He exclaims. "I'm so proud of you!" He kisses him, the acceptance letter getting crushed between them.

Julian laughs into the kiss. "Thanks, babe,"

Danny pulls back. "When did you get this?" He asks. He gives Julian the letter back, the latter dropping it to the ground. 

"A week ago. I was too nervous to open it at first, so it sat there for a couple of days on my dresser. I told my parents first, then came straight here," Julian explains, pulling Danny into his arms and tracing his fingers along his back. "I was nervous," He continues. "I still am. University of Arizona is pretty far away from you," He points out.

Danny's second reaction is a rock dropping into his gut. "Yeah,"

Julian hugs him a little tighter. "It's going to be fine. I love you. Long distance won't mean shit," 

He laughs. "Promise?"

"Promise." Julian looks so sincere, so genuine, that it feels like something is squeezing onto Danny's heart. "I already know who my roommates are,"

"Roommates? As in plural?" He asks.

"Yeah. I'm in a suite, but there's only three of us? I can't remember why," Julian answers, shrugging. "I think they're both from New York," 

"You're gonna be the only West Coaster, huh," He jokes. He feels more than hears Julian's laugh. "When do you leave?"

A sigh makes his hair tickle his forehead a little. "Freshmans have to be there on August 24th," Julian answers, making a face. "Why does college start so early?"

Danny laughs. "Because college classes get out late May," He smiles. "Tell me more about your roommates," He requests.

"I don't know much else. Mainly that they're from New York, Chris and Rob, both play sports. I don't actually get to meet them until I move in,"

Danny nods along. He definitely isn't jealous of them. Well, maybe he is a little, but only because he kind of wishes he could be going to college with Julian and sharing a dorm with him. Maybe they'd kill each other being contained in such a small place together.

"You think we should maybe tell Tom?" He asks suddenly, softly. When he doesn't get an answer, he adds, "Because, like, if we love each other, and we keep dating after we both leave for college, shouldn't he know? Wouldn't it make things easier?"

Silence.

"I'm not saying we should tell him tomorrow or anything. Just...I don't know," He raises his head to look at Julian's face. "...Or you're sleeping and didn't hear anything I just said," He sighs softly. "Maybe it's just as well you didn't hear me." He'll bring it up another time when they're both fully awake and coherent.

\-----

They don't talk about it. Julian has his car packed up of all the shit he needs for college and is hugging Danny because they can't kiss because Tom is standing right there and they haven't come out because they haven't talked about it; because they never talk about it.

\-----

Being back in college is weird. Well, not having Julian around as often as he did in the summer is what's weird. Sure, they talk a lot on the phone and text when they can't talk, and occasionally they're able to FaceTime if Tom is at football practice or with Drew. But Julian is still in Arizona and Danny is still in California, miles away.

Danny is lying on his side in his bed, phone held in front of him with Julian's face on it; grainy, but there. 

"Tell me more about your roommates," He requests because now Julian has actually met them and has had time to get to know them. 

"Rob likes to party...a lot. Which isn't a bad thing, he usually goes to some frat house and then comes back in the morning smelling like booze and death. I'm not sure how he ever manages to function or even get on the football field, but he does and, holy fucking shit, is this guy a fucking player. He's gonna be in the NFL,"

Danny laughs. "Sounds like a cool guy if you're fangirling this much over him,"

"Oh fuck you," Julian says back, laughing. 

"What about the other one?"

"Chris is cool. He plays lacrosse, but I think he really wants to play football. He said he'd help me with all the equation bits for my physics class," Julian explains. 

He huffs a small laugh. "I can't believe you're taking a physics class," 

Julian waves a hand. "I don't really care, or get, any of the actual math and science bits of physics, but I am so into the theories and different interpretations. And it's just a beginner's class, it's not like it's gonna be anymore than Schrodinger's Cat anyway."

"Huh?" 

And so Julian takes fifteen minutes to explain the Copenhagen Interpretation, takes ten minutes to then explain how Erwin Schrodinger used the interpretation to construct his Schrodinger's Cat experiment, another eight minutes explaining how Bryce DeWitt used this to expand the Many World's Interpretation, and another eighteen minutes diverging into something else entirely and talking about wormholes and how they work. Danny's brain hurts afterward.

There's a little rustling and Julian looks up from his phone. "What's up, bro?" 

"Rob's staying out late for a party again. So just anticipate him coming home early tomorrow morning." 

Danny assumes it's Chris talking. Unless Rob refers to himself in the third person. 

"As long as he doesn't throw up in his room, that's fine," Julian replies. He smiles at Danny then. "Hey, Chris, come here, lemme introduce you to someone," 

Another head comes into view and Danny gets his first look at one of Julian's roommates. Chris has blue eyes that could almost rival Julian's and brown hair that curls a little in the front. He's cute and his smile is nice.

"Are you Danny?" Chris asks. "Because Jules literally never shuts up about you. It's all 'my boyfriend, Danny has his own apartment', 'Danny just texted me the cutest thing'," 

Danny laughs at the red that's adorning Julian's face. "Oh my god, you've turned into Tommy."

"I have not!" Julian shouts, shoving Chris away and out of frame. "You're the worst." He says to his roommate. 

Danny hears laughter and then, "It was good meeting you! Maybe next time it'll even be in person."

Julian turns back to him, rolling his eyes. "That's my asshole of my roommate, Chris. I'll show you Rob if he ever bothers to come home and not stay out to party all night." 

Danny goes to reply, but his dorm room rattles. "Oh shit, I think Tommy's back, gotta go, I'll text you. Love you." He barely waits for a response before he's hitting end call and grabbing his book from the floor and opening to a random page. 

Tom walks in a minute later and nods in greeting to him. A second later, Drew walks in looking tired. He waves with a mostly limp hand that ends up being more of a waving away gesture. He looks dubiously at the book Danny has in his hands, but he doesn't even shrug at it. Drew collapses onto Tom's bed with a sigh.

"What happened to you guys?" Danny asks.

Drew, this time, makes a waving away gesture with his hand on purpose and answers, "Just football practice," He pushes himself up, even though he looks like he'd rather close his eyes and sleep. "I've gotta get going anyway," 

Tom reaches for Drew's wrist, but the older pulls it out of the grip and glides out the door, ignoring Tom insisting that he stay. It makes Danny feel like he's watching some kind of intimate moment. He's never seen them argue or even disagree on something that wasn't a football play. 

The door shuts and Tom winces at the finalty. 

"What happened?" Danny asks.

Tom rubs a hand down his face. "We had a fight," 

"I could tell," He comments. "About what?" He drops his book to the ground and sits up. 

"I don't even know," Tom says. "He told me to text someone for him, but when I opened his phone and went to his messages, he grabbed it before I could. I think he had someone he was talking to that he didn't want me to see," He explains. "What didn't he want me to see?"

Danny has an idea of what was on there, and it might involve multiple conversations between him and Drew about how to talk to Julian about coming out to Tom. 

"I'm not sure," Danny says, looking down at his hands. Tom laughs. "What?" He asks, looking at his best friend who gives him a look. "You think he's cheating on you?"

Tom doesn't say anything, but he rolls his eyes. 

"Drew is not cheating on you," He says. "C'mon, you don't actually think that, do you?"

Tom throws his arms up. He purses his lips before clicking his tongue. 

"Anything else! You're supposed to think anything else but Drew cheating on you. Drew: your very committed lover - lover because you guys are more than just boyfriend. Why would he even cheat on you? Maybe he's planning some kind of surprise for you?" His voice pitters off at the end, even he's not convincing himself.

He's not convincing Tom either because the latter gives him a withering look. 

He sighs. He's sick of this one-sided conversation, he needs more than looks to go off of. "Talk to me," He pleads.

Tom scoffs. "What am I supposed to say? I asked him about it, he insisted it was nothing, I said 'if it's nothing, let me see it', but he wouldn't show me," He leans forward suddenly.

"Be honest; do you think he's cheating on me?"

"No." 

Tom mulls this over. "You sound so convinced," 

He rolls his eyes. "Of course I do because he isn't cheating on you," He gestures with his hand to nothing. "If you're so worried, why don't you tell him about it," 

"He'll be offended," Tom whines. Danny clenches his jaw and glares at his dumb best friend. "Fine. I'll talk to him." 

He nods once, satisfied. "Good," He gestures to the door. "I've gotta use the bathroom." He dials Julian's number once he's out of the room, his boyfriend picking up mid-ring. "Julian," He hisses. "We need to tell Tom,"

"Why?" 

He starts pacing. "Because he got into a fight with Drew because -" He cuts himself off. Julian doesn't know that Drew knows. "I've gotta tell you something," 

Julian is quiet for a second. "What?"

"Drew knows," 

" _What?_ " 

Danny sighs. "Drew knows," He repeats. "He's known since we started dating. I'm sorry I didn't tell you; I thought you'd be mad,"

A beat. "So why do we have to tell Tom?" Julian asks, voice tight. 

"Him and Drew are getting into fights because of it. Tom thinks Drew's cheating on him because Drew wouldn't let him see his phone because there's messages about you from me on it," He explains. "I'm sorry," He apologizes again. 

"I know. It's, it's fine," It doesn't feel fine though. "Can we talk about this later?" 

Danny swallows hard. "Sure." He knows they won't talk about it. 

"I'm mad," Julian admits. "I'm pissed that you lied to me," There's a pause, so long that Danny thinks the line has been disconnected. "I love you." 

"I love you too."

And then the line goes dead. Danny has definitely fucked up. He's stripping off the throw pillows, pulling back the covers, and lying in that proverbial bed that he made for himself those months ago; it's cold; empty; comforting in a way that only getting caught in a lie can be. At least Julian loves him still. Somehow.

He sighs, pocketing his phone, blinking rapidly to avoid tears that would be impossible to explain Tom. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little late, been on a musical theater kick. 2016 Falsettos is so good. Andrew Rannells and Christian Borle as Broadway boyfriends, can we not? Falsettos, in general, is just so good, someone cry about it with me.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whattup? Remember me? Been going through some shit (aren't I always, though?). Anyway, here's a chapter.

A week had gone by of one-word answer texts and Danny biting his nails down to the quick before everything finally comes to a head. Tom keeps asking him what's wrong and he can only respond _just school, man_. He hasn't seen Drew around their dorm and Tom doesn't seem to leave unless it's for class or practice; always coming back with slumped shoulders and dismissive wave when Danny gives him a questioning look.

"Seriously," Danny says when Tom comes in their room. "What is going on with you and Drew? I thought you said you'd talk about it,"

Tom shrugs. "I tried. He wouldn't tell me what was on his phone. Feels like he can't trust me and I'm having a hard time trusting him too right now." He looks imploringly over to Danny. "Get drunk with me?"

He narrows his eyes at Tom. "You don't like drinking," He points out.

"Not usually, but I could do with some drinking tonight,"

"What if you become a sad drunk?" 

Tom's face does a weird thing. "I won't, I promise." 

He sighs, resigned. "You're buying."

"Don't need to," Tom says, reaching into his bag and pulling out a new bottle of Fireball Whiskey and handing it to him. "Got you this already," 

He blinks at it. "We're sharing, right?" He's answered when Tom pulls out another bottle, this one Smirnoff. "I'm not drinking this whole thing," 

"Don't expect you to. You're kinda a lightweight," Tom is already cracking open his bottle even though the sun hasn't even hit the horizon yet. 

"You're not drinking now," Danny says incredulously. "You are." And Tom is, drinking straight from the bottle like Danny hasn't seen him do since high school when that first love of his moved back to Brazil. 

"Come on," Tom encourages. "I even got you a chaser," He says.

Danny hums and rummages around in Tom's bag to find it. It's a six-pack of Gatorade that Tom no doubt stole from the locker room. "Thanks." 

Tom is taking another drink from his bottle. Danny thinks that this is a very bad idea, but he's had loads of bad ideas within the last six months. He thinks he deserves to not have to think for a night. Even if he will regret it in the morning. 

He cracks the seal on his own bottle and is greeted by the strong scent of cinnamon whiskey. It nearly makes his eyes water and he can already feel the burn in the back of his throat. It makes his mouth water and his stomach churn at the same time. 

"Come on, take a drink already," Tom insists.

Danny sighs. He takes a drink, eyes watering and throat constricting, warmth sliding down and settling in his stomach. It's as much a comfort as it is pain and he forgoes the chaser to suffer through it. 

"There you go, buddy," Tom says, laughing at the dry look that Danny gives him. "Now you're living,"

He rolls his eyes. "I live every day,"

"You haven't left the dorm in a week," 

"Neither have you,"

"I've been to practice,"

Danny rolls his eyes. "Yeah, that doesn't count," He takes another mouthful, grimacing.   
An hour goes by, then two, then three, and then it's dark when Danny looks out the window. Tom is on the floor, vodka bottle half empty. Danny isn't too far behind, more alcohol left in his own bottle, but just as drunk as his best friend. Tom looks sad despite his promise to not become a sad drunk. 

"What doesn't he want me to see?" Tom asks, forlorn. 

Danny shrugs slowly. "Don't know,"

"Should I break up with him?" 

He spins to look at Tom, immediately regretting it when the rest of room spins with him.

"Wha? No," He's going to say more, but his phone rings. It's Julian. Tom looks on the verge of a breakdown. 

"Answer your phone," Tom slurs like he was reading Danny's mind. "I'll be fine."

Danny stumbles out of the room and into the dorm hallway. "H'lo?" 

Silence, then, "Are you drunk?" 

"Tommy insisted. He's sad that he and Drew are doing this weird, like, fighting but not really fighting," His words slur together and probably sound like one long word instead of a sentence. "More like a not talking thing," He rests against the wall, pressing his hot cheek to the cold wall. "Kinda like us. Miss you."

"Yeah, yeah, miss you -"

"And we don't gotta tell no one anything about us if you don't wanna," He continues, eyelids drooping. "Sorry I lied to you. D'you still love me?"

Julian sounds fondly exasperated when he replies. "Yes, I still love you. Of course I still love you. Listen, I'm gonna text you later for you to call me tomorrow, okay?"

Danny nods against the wall. "Yeah, okay. Love you."

"Love you too, you drunk." Julian answers, hanging up.

The conversation leaves Danny feeling warm for different reasons because it sounds like Julian is on his way to forgiving him. When he enters his dorm room, Tom has graduated to laying on the ground now. 

"Who was it?" He asks.

Danny slowly shakes his head. "No one important," He goes to walk to the bed, almost tripping. "How're you doin'?"

Tom shrugs, only one shoulder moving with the other pinned to the rug. "'M really drunk, oh my god." 

"Good observation," Danny mumbles, finally making it to his bed and laying down. "I'm so fucking tired and I want to die,"

"Same, dude. Same,"

He turns his head to look at Tom. "You need any help, buddy?"

Tom shakes his head. "Nah, nah. I'll be fine," He assures, heads still moving slightly. "I'm just gonna..." He tries to unscrew the bottle, fingers slipping.

"No, no, no," Danny says, rushing to roll off the bed and ignoring the roiling of his stomach as he does it. He grabs the bottle out of Tom's hands. "No more drinking. Time for sleeping," He pushes Tom up into his own bed, rolling him over onto his side. 

Tom huffs but closes his eyes and is asleep almost instantly. Danny rolls his eyes and slips back into his own bed. He closes his eyes and wills the darkness to stay still so he can sleep.

 

Tom wakes him up by probing him in the side repeatedly. "Wake up," 

He bats the hand away. "Fuck off. You made me drink, I'm allowed to do nothing today. Leave me alone," He brings the covers over his head to block out the light.  
Tom scoffs. "I'm serious,"

"Yeah, me too." He knows that Tom won't relent though and he grudgingly pulls the covers down and squints against the harsh lighting. "How are you not hungover?" He asks.

Tom shrugs. "Must be a good immune system," He sounds smug.

Danny refrains from rolling his eyes. "Fuck your good immune system." He goes to sit up, but his stomach lurches, so he just winces and closes his eyes. "Also, fuck going to class."

"I'll get notes for you," Tom offers. 

"Thanks, you're the best," He cries out weakly. 

Tom smirks at the doorway. "I did make you drink after all." 

Danny throws his best friend the finger, hears laughter before the door clicking shut. He spends another hour just laying in bed wanting to be dead before he hesitantly looks at his phone. God, why were phone screens so bright?

He has a text message from Kay and a few from Julian. The most recent one being a simple, _call me when you're awake,_ _drunkie_. Did he call Julian last night? He groans softly prays he didn't say anything stupid - prays he didn't accidentally tell Tom about him and Julian. Though, Tom didn't say anything about it when he woke him up, so he's probably safe.

He debates waiting a few more minutes, or maybe a few more hours, but sucks it up and presses the call button. He holds it up to his ear, winces, turns down the volume.

"Hey, you're awake," Julian greets. And he doesn't sound angry which is a good sign.

Danny breathes out a laugh. "Yeah," He rolls over onto his side, closing his eyes again. "I said 'fuck it' to class because I'm so hungover I wanna die." 

Julian laughs and Danny lets the sound wash over him. "Do you remember anything from last night?" 

"Um, not really." He admits.

"Well, I called you. You were plastered and told me that you were sorry and how we didn't have to tell anyone about us if we didn't want to," Julian explains, much to Danny's horror.

He groans. "Oh my god, I'm sorry,"

"Don't be. It was kinda cute," Julian lets out a sigh that crackles over the phone. "But I called because I know I haven't been, like, talking to you all that much. I just...I was thinking about what you said and how we're causing other relationships to fracture and just...We need to talk," 

Danny feels his stomach lurch, not from the hangover. "Like a bad 'we need to talk'?" 

"No, um, no, no," Julian quickly denies. "Sorry. Just realizing how that sounded. I meant, like, talk in person? Talking about coming out isn't exactly something we should do over the phone," 

"Okay. Sure, yeah," He agrees.

"Cool. So, um, you should come here for Halloween weekend," Julian says in a rush.

"Sure," He's pretty sure he'd agree to anything Julian said right now. 

"Also," Julian adds. "Tell Drew to just delete the messages."

"Right." 

"Alright. I've gotta go. Love you." 

Danny smiles. "Love you too." He stays on his side, draping his arm off the bed and dropping his phone. He sighs. Maybe he didn't fuck everything up.

\-----

Things were...better between Tom and Drew, much to Danny's relief. They aren't completely back to the loving, all over each other, romantic, cliche, nauseating way they were, but they're better. Danny finds this out the hard way mid-October.

"Oh my god!" He shouts when he opens the door to his dorm. "We talked about this! Let me know, holy shit," He leaves as quick as he came, slamming the door. "Fucking dicks." 

He gets a text half an hour later from Tom saying it's safe to come back to the dorm. 

"Why." He says when he enters. Drew is gone. "Could you just send a text before you guys start fucking? You know how many times a person probably sees their best friend having sex? Twice. _Maybe_."

Tom is laying on his stomach, looking blissed out, and Danny totally isn't jealous that his best friend is getting some when he's not. That'd be ridiculous. He's not jealous.

"Sorry," Tom mumbles. "It just kinda...happened."

Danny rolls his eyes. "Just put a sock on the door or something then." 

Tom hums. Danny takes it as a _good night_.

\-----

Danny tries to bring it up to Tom casually, the whole going away for Halloween weekend.

"Hey, so uh, I'm gonna be gone on Halloween weekend," He says the Wednesday before. It's probably the lease casual way he could bring it up, but no one ever accused him of having a lot of tact.

Tom, as Danny knew he would, looks at him, surprised and a little suspicious. "Oh yeah? Where are you going?" 

He shrugs a shoulder, looking at a spot over Tom's right shoulder. "I met someone online and they go to, um, Stanford, so I thought I'd meet them for the first time." He cringes as the lie rolls off his tongue.

"Wait, this will be the first time that you meet this person? Have you even talked to them on the phone before? What if they're some kind of serial killer?" Tom asks in a rush. 

"Yeah, I've talked to them on the phone. He's not gonna murder me," Danny answers, laughing. "I didn't tell you because I thought it might be weird that I met someone online."

Tom's face softens. "'Dola, you're my best friend. I'm not gonna make fun of you finding someone you like,"

Danny immediately feels bad about literally everything he's done and lying to his best friend. "I...thanks, man."

"So," Tom starts, closing his textbook. "What's their name?"

He flounders for a name, because he didn't think this through, before saying, "Uh, his name's Chris." He inwardly cringes again.

"What's he like? Do you have a picture of him?"

Danny scrambles for his phone before Tom can get it. "Yeah, hang on," He hastily goes on to Instagram and screenshots a few pictures. "He plays lacrosse," He adds, filling the time between screenshotting. When he's finished, he holds his phone up to Tom. He's made sure not to use any picture of him in an Arizona jersey, or any with Julian or anyone that could be associated with the University of Arizona. It leaves few usable photos.

Tom whistles. "Damn," He swipes to see more pictures. "He's got nice eyes."

An unexpected laugh startles out of Danny's mouth. "Yeah, his eyes are really blue. He's funny too, and pretty good at physics,"

Tom hands the phone back. "Well, I hope you have fuuuun," He stretches the last word out with a wink.

Danny's heart settles back down. Tom believes him and, while he feels sick to his stomach with guilt, he's still a little relieved that he wasn't called out. Though he doesn't know what feels worse: hiding the relationship and lying or being happy he isn't caught.

\-----

Tom ends up lending Danny his car because, despite almost never driving, he does have a license and Tom is the greatest best friend ever. Julian had texted him earlier that he was in the Coronado building. He still gets lost and Julian ends up texting him again for where to park and then meets him at the main door to the building.

"'Dola!" He shouts when he sees him, running almost at full speed and nearly knocking him to the ground. He gets kissed before he can even greet him back. 

"Hey," He says breathlessly after Julian pulls away. He smiles. "I've missed you," 

"I missed you too." Julian's face brightens. "Come on, I want you to meet my roommates,"

He pulls Danny into the building and to the back where his suite is. There's a whiteboard attached to the door with a marker hanging by a string next to it. It reads _football is better than lacrosse._ There's a frowny face with a tear drawn in the corner of the board and he assumes that Chris is the artist of it.

Julian's suite is much, much bigger than any Danny has been in before; a shared living room and a tiny kitchen with two bedrooms and bathrooms. What it must be like to have a sports scholarship. Or a lot of luck in Julian's case.

When he opens the door to the fucking living room, the guy Danny recognizes as Chris is sitting on the couch with a textbook open on his lap. He doesn't look up when they enter. 

"Hey, textbook," Julian greets. "My boyfriend's here," 

Danny gets flashbacks to the graduation party, but it's brief and then Chris is smiling at him and waving, a pencil held between his fingers. 

"Hey, man. It's cool to finally meet you," Chris greets. "If I hadn't kinda met you when you guys were FaceTiming, I totally would've thought you were made up," He jokes. 

Julian rolls his eyes and then smiles. "Could you be the best roommate ever and sleep in Gronk's room this weekend?" He asks. "It's not like he'll even be here, probably off at parties," 

Chris raises an eyebrow and Danny flushes. "Sure, dude. No problem." He answers, smirking. 

Julian smirks back. "You're the best." He tugs Julian by his wrist into his bedroom. 

"I can't believe you have your own bedroom," Danny says. "It's bigger than mine and Tom's whole dorm," 

Julian laughs and pushes him down onto his bed, moving on top of him. "I've really missed you," He drawls, voice low and husky. 

Danny shivers and swallows. "I...I thought you wanted to talk." 

"Later." Julian insists, pressing their lips together hard enough to bruise. 

_Later_ sounds a lot like _never_ , but when Julian is pressing him into the mattress and kissing him breathless, he finds it really hard to think of what they even needed to talk about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time: A college Halloween party! Everyone in costumes! Send me costume suggestions for people!


End file.
